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It appears Mercedes will make some significant changes to their strategy after seeing Lewis Hamilton beat out both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton drove a brilliant race to win the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, thus marking the end of Mercedes’ streak of race wins this season.
After the race, Hamilton looked forward to the title race, as he closed the gap between himself and the current championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, who didn’t even finish the race.
Kimi Antonelli retires from the Spanish Grand Prix! What does this mean for his championship chances?
Hamilton managed to hold off both Antonelli and George Russell for most of the race when he took the lead. On top of that, the Mercedes drivers battling with each other only made things harder for them.
And it is this approach to the race that Toto Wolff believes the team must address going forward, as he believes it cost them the race.
Toto Wolff believes Kimi Antonelli and George Russell battle ‘cost’ Mercedes the win against Lewis Hamilton
Speaking on Sky Sports, Toto Wolff suggested that Mercedes allowing Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to compete fairly with no restrictions cost them the race.
He added that both drivers cost each other valuable lap time, and that he and Mercedes would discuss the possibility of team orders going forward.
“And today we tried to race fair in the team game, but maybe it cost us the win today. That’s something which we need to discuss with the drivers…
“They raced each other quite hard before George’s stop, and I think we lost about four, five, or six seconds to Lewis. Then obviously, the VSC changed the order.
“It’s just George and Kimi racing hard. We’re leaving lap time on the track, and we need to discuss with them for the future.”
READ MORE: Max Verstappen reacts to Lewis Hamilton’s ‘beautiful’ Ferrari win at Barcelona Grand Prix
Your championship standings after the Barcelona GP. How worried should Kimi Antonelli be about Lewis Hamilton?
Mercedes drivers could find their title ambitions halted by team orders
If Toto Wolff decides to implement team orders for both Antonelli and Russell, it could limit both drivers significantly in their pursuit of winning a drivers’ championship.
We got a glimpse of their battle today and how it derailed their efforts to win the race. And while Antonelli’s engine failure wasn’t caused by this battle, it has complicated their season.
Wolff is aware of how dangerous Hamilton is when pursuing a championship, so he and Mercedes might decide to prioritise Antonelli over Russell, given that he is leading the championship race.
Doing so would be a huge blow to Russell, who came into the season looking like the favourite to win the world championship.
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