The Formula 1 season is only three races in; however, it already looks like the title will end up in the hands of a Mercedes driver, be that Kimi Antonelli or George Russell.
This may have many F1 fans worried that they are set for a boring season of team orders and ensuring one driver will cruise to the title.
Toto Wolff’s latest comments will be music to these fans’ ears as he has suggested that the drivers will be allowed to race each other for the majority of the season but that they may have to change later in the season.
Russell came into the season as the favourite for the title, but after three races he is currently second in the standings behind his teammate, Antonelli.
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Speaking to GP Blog, Wolff confirmed there are currently no team orders regarding the title races, as he said: “We are three races in, the car is good, so we need to continue to do a job, our job, and give them tools with which they can continue to win and fight for the positions.
“Then, towards the end of the season, we're going to see how the points fall and whether anything needs to be done.
"But at this stage, both are absolutely off the leash; as long as there is always a margin between the cars, we are fine."
Ferrari have been the closest challenger to Mercedes in the early stages of the season, and should they be consistent and start to win races, there may be a change in Wolff’s status on the team orders regarding his team.
The Mercedes team principal was also quick to rule out the relationship of Antonelli and Russell ending up similar to that of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton when they were challenging for a world title.
He said: “Yeah, so [Hamilton-Rosberg] is completely different. I mean, Nico and Lewis knew each other from karting, from the early days, being friends but also having this social fight that was always ingrained in there.
"And then what was a friendship became a rivalry, then animosity, and it was two very different characters."
Topics: Formula 1, George Russell
Brendan McGilligan