Toto Wolff has admitted Mercedes may need to revisit how George Russell and Kimi Antonelli race each other after Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari victory changed the pressure around the 2026 Formula 1 title fight.
Hamilton’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix win was Ferrari’s first with the seven-time world champion, and it came on a day when Mercedes were left asking whether their own drivers had cost each other vital time.
According to a fresh update from Formula1.com, Wolff said Russell and Antonelli raced “quite hard” before Russell’s stop and suggested Mercedes lost several seconds to Hamilton before the Virtual Safety Car helped swing the order.
Mercedes now have a Hamilton problem
The issue is not that Russell and Antonelli are being allowed to race. Mercedes’ strength this season has come from having two front-running drivers, with Antonelli’s rookie title push giving the team a brutal competitive edge.
The problem is the context. Barcelona was the first Grand Prix Mercedes failed to win in 2026, and Hamilton’s victory cut his gap to Antonelli to 41 points. That makes every internal delay more expensive.
Wolff’s warning sounded less like a reprimand than a reset. If Ferrari are close enough to benefit from Mercedes leaving lap time on the track, Russell and Antonelli’s freedom to fight may now need sharper limits.
