Former Haas System 1 workforce principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is not going to shrink back from imposing workforce orders if Ferrari and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton emerge as a real menace for the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
Following a powerful 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.
Talking on The Pink Flags Podcast, 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, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, to race.
“Kimi received 5 races; George received one. That claims all of it,” Steiner stated. “Subsequently, I feel Kimi continues to be, as you name it, within the driver’s seat. However I feel Mercedes lets them race freely if the efficiency of Ferrari was a one-off in Barcelona.
“I feel if the efficiency of Ferrari continues, Toto will come down to provide workforce orders, and I feel 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 workforce orders.
“He desires to win, I imply he hasn’t received now for some time, he is able to win one other championship. For Toto, successful means Mercedes successful, aka Toto successful. Who’s successful for him? I do not suppose he actually cares.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photograph by: Alastair Staley / LAT Photographs by way of Getty Photographs
When requested when Wolff may pull the set off on backing one driver, the previous Haas workforce boss added: “I feel as quickly as Toto feels that Ferrari goes to be an actual contender, like they have been in Barcelona, he’ll do it. He is not going to wait round. They’ll watch the subsequent race, see the way it goes there. And I feel they’re already planning, for positive they held conferences. ‘How are we going to cope with the scenario if Ferrari comes shut?'”
After back-to-back wins in China and Japan, Antonelli turned the youngest driver to steer the championship. He continued his successful 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 Pink Bull Ring.
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