Toto Wolff has warned he would never allow a Mercedes driver to feel “like this is all about him” amid a potential title battle between team-mates George Russell and Kiimi Antonelli.
Mercedes have dominated the opening three rounds of the season to open a 45-point gap at the top of the constructors’ standings, but Antonelli leads Russell by just nine points at the top of the drivers’ standings.
While a lengthy gap before this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix – caused by the cancellation of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to conflict in the Middle East – has given rivals time to reduce Mercedes’ early advantage, the Silver Arrows drivers remain the title favourites.
During a virtual press conference last week, Wolff was asked how his experience of managing intense title battles between his former drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg could help him should Mercedes remain in front of their rivals throughout the year.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli claims victory at Japanese GP to win back-to-back races and becomes the youngest-ever to lead the F1 title race.
Wolff said: “The oddity in Formula 1 is that the two team-mates are also the biggest competitors, and we’ve learned a lot over the last 10-plus years in how to best handle these situations.
“But ‘best handle’ means also letting them race and acknowledging the fact that they race. There are certain values that we stand for in the team. The team is always bigger than the drivers.
“It is Mercedes, so one of the most formidable brands in the world, the best car brand in the world. We race for 150,000 people that work for us, a company that exists for more than 120 years. And having the opportunity to race, to be one of the few selected racers for Mercedes, also comes with a responsibility for racing for Mercedes.
George Russell fumes to Toto Wolff over the Mercedes team radio!
“And the moment a driver feels like this is all about him, that’s not the mindset that we would ever allow or accept in the team. And we’ve done that in the past. I would rather have only one car driving if that wasn’t clear, that wasn’t happening.
“But I think it will never come to that point because our drivers, they’ve been so long in the Mercedes family, that they are part of that mindset and this philosophical approach and the legacy that they represent.”
Antonelli: Expectations automatically a bit different now
Russell backed up his pre-season status as a clear title favourite over Antonelli by winning the opening race in Australia, but the Italian teenager hit back with successive victories in China and Japan to secure a shock early advantage.
Even after Antonelli’s maiden race wins, Wolff sought to play down his title prospects, but the 19-year-old himself has since admitted that his own expectations have been changed by a strong start to 2026.
Antonelli said: “Definitely, I think it’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side, and I think definitely it’s been a very strong start of the season.
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“And definitely expectations, automatically they’re a bit different now, but at the end of the day, I still try to keep the same mindset that as I had in the in the first three races, just trying to keep focusing on what I have to do, on the goal and just trying to put myself in the best position as possible to then achieve a great result.
“What I don’t want to do is, now that obviously we’re in a good position, is start to think about the final result, or long-term results.
“I just really want to focus on the present, and how I can maximise every time I go in the car in order to get the best result.
“And yeah, focusing on the process and then little by little, trying to raise the bar, raise the game. Because obviously George is super strong, and competitors will get closer, so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, but just trying to raise the bar little by little.”
Russell: I already knew Antonelli was ‘incredibly fast’
Russell was left frustrated by issues out of his control contributing to him being beaten by Antonelli in China and Japan, but says he always expected the Italian to keep him “on his toes”.
“I knew he was incredibly fast,” Russell told Sky Sports.
“These last two races have been slightly unfortunate from my side, and I think that’s just how it goes sometimes, but I always knew he’d be keeping me on my toes.”
George Russell shares his excitement to fight his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli once the season resumes in Miami.
After joining Mercedes in 2022, Russell experienced a relative downturn in form for the Silver Arrows, with the team losing out on titles to Red Bull and McLaren in each of his four campaigns.
However, they have turned the tables on their rivals following a major regulation change for 2026, and Russell is hopeful they can maintain the early-season advantage that has allowed him and Antonelli to battle for wins.
“The difference last year was that if you were a tenth or two behind one another (in qualifying), that was four or five places, whereas now we’ve got this bit of a buffer,” Russell said.
“We’ve had four starts with the Sprint in China as well, and we’ve been one-two in each. The first two were sort of three tenths in my favours, the last two a couple of tenths in his favour, and we were both still there (on the front row), so I hope that continues.
“I’m just excited to get back to Miami, get back into the groove. Looking forward to when the season really hots up in Europe with back-to-back race weekends.”
Formula 1 returns on May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season’s second Sprint weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
