Former Haas System 1 crew principal Guenther Steiner believes boss Toto Wolff is not going to shrink back from imposing crew orders if and seven-time champion emerge as a real menace for the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
Following a robust comeback efficiency by Ferrari on the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, the place Hamilton secured his maiden win with the Maranello outfit, Steiner feels the dynamic on the entrance of the grid may shift.
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Talking on , the Italian-American shared his ideas on the intra-team battle at Mercedes. Within the first seven rounds of the 2026 season, the Brackley outfit has allowed its drivers, and Kimi Antonelli, to race.
“Kimi gained 5 races; George gained one. That claims all of it,” Steiner mentioned. “Due to this fact, I believe Kimi remains to be, as you name it, within the driver’s seat. However I believe Mercedes lets them race freely if the efficiency of Ferrari was a one-off in Barcelona.
“I believe if the efficiency of Ferrari continues, Toto will come down to present crew orders, and I believe he already pointed to that if Ferrari comes close to as a result of Toto is not going to lose a championship as a result of he did not give crew orders.
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“He desires to win, I imply he hasn’t gained now for some time, he is able to win one other championship. For Toto, profitable means Mercedes profitable, aka Toto profitable. Who’s profitable for him? I do not suppose he actually cares.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
When requested when Wolff may pull the set off on backing one driver, the previous Haas crew boss added: “I believe as quickly as Toto feels that Ferrari goes to be an actual contender, like they had been in Barcelona, he’ll do it. He is not going to wait round. They may watch the subsequent race, see the way it goes there. And I believe they’re already planning, for positive they held conferences. ‘How are we going to take care of the scenario if Ferrari comes shut?'”
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After back-to-back wins in China and Japan, Antonelli turned the youngest driver to guide the championship. He continued his profitable streak with three additional consecutive wins in Miami, Canada and Monaco. The 19-year-old now leads the championship by 41 factors over Ferrari’s Hamilton.
Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell follows in third, 9 factors behind the seven-time champion.
The eighth spherical of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix, will happen from 26-28 June on the Purple Bull Ring.
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