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Mercedes have a track record of not favouring either of their drivers when it comes to race strategy, and may be risking their chances of securing a first drivers’ title since 2020 if the Silver Arrows revive the same ethos they had with Lewis Hamilton.
The civil war between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes during the mid 2010s gave F1 fans one of, if not the, most explosive teammate battles in the history of the sport.
It’s one of the many reasons why Valtteri Bottas was hailed as such a perfect teammate to the seven-time world champion during Hamilton’s quest to add as many accolades as he possibly could before the development race caught up to the Silver Arrows.
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Team orders became the norm at Mercedes during Bottas’ time at Brackley, but George Russell’s arrival at the team in 2022 marked a shift in the way their driver line-up was managed.
- READ MORE: Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve agree on why Mercedes should be ‘worried’ after the Japanese GP
Mercedes cannot employ the same Lewis Hamilton-era strategy for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli
In a post-Japanese Grand Prix review on Julianne Cerasoli’s official YouTube channel, the F1 journalist highlighted Mercedes’ previous way of managing their drivers when Hamilton was partnering with Russell at Brackley.
After noting the Briton’s struggle with energy management in the current crop of F1 cars, Cerasoli then detailed how Mercedes’ race strategy may start to affect the team’s close-to-perfect results so far this year.
She said, “The second point of the question is what Mercedes’ stance will be in this internal battle. I know that back when Russell was there with Hamilton, sometimes they chose the worst strategy so as not to favour one driver over the other.
“That’s the trauma. A huge one, from Total Wolff, over what happened with Rosberg and Hamilton. And that’s in his mind. So we might see some slightly odd decisions from Mercedes in terms of strategy.”
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Now, it’s always difficult to pick a favourite when both drivers are performing at such a high level, but reverting to their old ways of working could prove to be disastrous for the German constructor.
McLaren showcased last year that it isn’t the optimal strategy. Of course, they won both championships, but they also almost didn’t.
Max Verstappen came just two points away from snatching the title out of Lando Norris’ hands at the 2025 season finale, and Zak Brown’s ‘papaya rules’ would have taken the brunt of the outrage if the Dutchman had been successful.
As ever in the world of sports, you’re a genius when things go your way, but on the occasion that things don’t, you’re then painted as the villain.
- READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer says Oscar Piastri perfectly played George Russell in ‘brilliant’ Japanese GP battle
There are still a lot of risks associated with an F1 team favouring a specific driver
There are obviously a lot of risks that come with favouring a driver over their teammate during a championship battle.
As Oscar Piastri has found out this year, you’re not guaranteed a second chance at glory if you fail the first time, so whoever Wolff does opt to give the title of second driver will certainly feel hard done by.
Especially if it happens to be Russell, who has cemented himself as the lead driver since Hamilton’s exit from Mercedes at the end of 2024.
The British driver has patiently bided his time for a shot at a championship crown in F1, and there is no doubt that he won’t simply stand aside and let Kimi Antonelli reap the rewards of his efforts in recent years.
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