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With Ferrari now entering the title race picture, Ralf Schumacher believes Mercedes have come to an ‘agreement’ with George Russell regarding the use of team orders at the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix.
The topic of team orders during the current campaign has been a hot topic ever since it emerged that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli would be duking it out for championship glory after the first few rounds of racing.
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Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images
It was prevalent all the way through McLaren’s intra-team title fight last year, with the Woking-based outfit’s ‘papaya rules’ rubbing fans the wrong way on more than one occasion.
It has been thought to be just a matter of time before Mercedes chief Toto Wolff implements something within his setup in Brackley, and F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher believes that time is now.
- READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer says McLaren were right all along over papaya rules for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Ralf Schumacher thinks Mercedes have now come to an ‘agreement’ with George Russell over team orders
In a pre-Austrian Grand Prix episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher was asked for his thoughts on which team would be arriving at the Red Bull Ring as the favourites.
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Ferrari are expected to be challenging Mercedes once again this weekend, with the Silver Arrows’ recent reliability woes throwing a spanner into the works for the engine manufacturer. Their solution to the issue could potentially play into the Scuderia’s hands.
“Well, I’d say cars that are efficient will be strong there,” Schumacher began. “I’m not entirely sure about McLaren – whether they’re really that good on the long straights with their downforce package.
“Red Bull – if the car is light and finally works, they could suddenly make a comeback. Mercedes will be efficient there, and Ferrari is a bit of a big question mark. I don’t see the advantages Ferrari had in Barcelona as being quite so strong now.
“It’s going to be really close, I reckon. And Mercedes – I mean, not much is being said about them, but we’ll have to wait and see there too. They won’t be turning up with the same set-up.”
- READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher fears George Russell will receive ‘bitter’ news when he returns to F1 paddock
One thing that intrigues the six-time Grand Prix winner is how the race weekend will pan out for both of their title contenders. Schumacher expects team orders to be in play if one scenario ends up happening.
“Obviously, they’ve now realised they need to do a bit more, and what’s even more interesting is how they’ll set things up with what happens there,” he continued. “Who’s faster in practice now? Will Antonelli beat him again?
“I could imagine that if Antonelli isn’t faster than Russell, there’ll be some sort of agreement up front this time, because obviously, if Ferrari really is that close, they can’t let the bread be taken off their plate again this time.”
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