Steiner claims Mercedes has quietly told Russell to play second fiddle to Antonelli

Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes has already had the defining conversation with George Russell — one that effectively reframes his 2026 season around supporting team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s championship campaign, rather than pursuing his own.

The former Haas team principal made the claim on The Red Flags Podcast, pointing to the Dutch Grand Prix as the moment the new order became visible. Russell was asked over team radio to allow Antonelli through during the race, briefly questioning the call before complying. He ultimately finished third behind race winner Lando Norris and Antonelli, and told media afterwards the decision was correct given his team-mate’s tyre advantage.

Team chief Toto Wolff insisted the instruction had nothing to do with the championship standings, but Steiner is unconvinced the episode was spontaneous. “I wouldn’t say they told him, ‘You’re the number two driver,’” Steiner said. “They told him, ‘You are now here to support Kimi.’ I wouldn’t call him the number two driver, but, ‘If needed, you need to support Kimi to win the world championship. This is your mission for this season.’ No, I think that happened.”

Steiner also drew a pointed comparison to McLaren’s 2025 title run, where the team resisted imposing a clear hierarchy and came agonisingly close to losing the championship as a result. “If you want to win, this is what you have to do. Otherwise, you take the risk as McLaren did last year, then get down to the last race to lose that world championship — not to win it, to lose it.”

The numbers give Steiner’s reading some weight. Antonelli, 18, has won six of the season’s grands prix to Russell’s two, and became the youngest driver to lead the standings after back-to-back victories in China and Japan. He currently sits on 242 points; Russell is second on 183, level with Lewis Hamilton.

Russell had arrived at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as the pre-season favourite for the drivers’ title. The shift in momentum since then has been stark, and the Dutch Grand Prix episode has sharpened scrutiny on how Mercedes manages the relationship between its drivers for the remainder of the campaign. Neither the team nor the drivers have confirmed that any formal conversation about roles took place over the summer break.