Mercedes face 'inevitable' issue after F1 season restart that could impact Russell and Antonelli team orders

Mercedes' deputy team principal has already admitted there will be an ‘inevitable’ issue once the 2026 F1 season restarts after the summer break.

Despite Kimi Antonelli leading the Drivers’ Standings after 11 races and George Russell sitting in third behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, the Silver Arrows may be in for a tough second half of the campaign.

This is because they will likely face grid penalties, as the Brackley-based outfit has used more engine parts than they would’ve liked, something which will likely hamper them come the second half of the campaign.

McLaren’s Lando Norris suffered a similar fate ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix and received a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit element limits.

Drivers are permitted to use a maximum of four internal combustion engine components every season, and going above this number triggers automatic grid penalties.

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Mercedes may choose to tactically incur the penalties where they see fit, something which McLaren did at Spa due to its long straights making it easier to overtake.

Toto Wolff explains where Mercedes could incur penalties

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has already suggested Antonelli may take a penalty at the Italian Grand Prix, as the Monza course lends itself to overtaking.

Speaking earlier in August, Wolff explained: “I think, looking at how many we've used in the first half of the season, it's almost inevitable that at some point there will be penalties to take.

“It's realistically going to be hard to get to the end of the season on the existing hardware that we've got. We've got half a season to do. Kimi's on his fourth set of bits, so the next ones incur penalties, and George is on his third in the first half of the year.”

If this is the case, this could impact team orders, with some fans already suggesting it may be wise for Mercedes to favour Antonelli over Russell as the Italian teenager is their best hope of securing the title.

However, deputy team principal Bradley Lord made it clear that Wolff is determined to treat each race on its merits.

“The simple principle is, if a Mercedes can win the race, a Mercedes must win the race, and that’s what comes first,” Lord said in a mid-season review.

“The team comes first, and the Constructors’ Championship is the team’s primary focus and primary objective.”

He added: “We’ve seen the fight swing, sort of all the way out to the point where I think all of you know it was being written that there was only one possible winner of the championship, and then, in the space of three races, we’ve seen that swing completely the other way as well.

“We’re at the halfway stage, and it’s far too early to even be thinking like that. We’re not focused on the ‘what if?’ scenario.

“We want to win both championships, absolutely, and we’ll give ourselves the best chance of doing that by getting two cars to the finish as often as possible in the highest possible positions that we can, which is what we’ve failed to do at every single race so far this year.”

Lord also admitted that “it’s almost inevitable” that Mercedes will have to take penalties at some point following the summer break.

“I think, looking at how many we've used in the first half of the season, it's almost inevitable that at some point there will be penalties to take,” he said.

“It's realistically going to be hard to get to the end of the season on the existing hardware that we've got. We've got half a season to do. Kimi's on his fourth set of bits, so the next ones incur penalties, and George is on his third in the first half of the year.”

F1 returns next weekend, with the Dutch Grand Prix scheduled for August 23.