Mercedes reckons it is “far too early” to prioritise Kimi Antonelli or George Russell in the 2026 Formula 1 world title fight amid the threat of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
The Silver Arrows have been the dominant outfit at the start of this regulation cycle, winning eight of the opening 11 grands prix to establish a 72-point lead over Ferrari with 12 rounds left.
Six of those victories have gone to Antonelli, who is therefore 50 points ahead of Barcelona winner Hamilton and 59 in front of Mercedes stablemate and pre-season favourite Russell.
So considering Russell’s title hopes are now hanging by a thread, there had been calls for Mercedes to prioritise Antonelli to ensure he claims a maiden crown in a routine manner.
That’s particularly when last year McLaren refused to prioritise either Oscar Piastri or eventual champion Lando Norris, which partly paved the way for Red Bull's Max Verstappen to launch a late attack.
But Mercedes sees no reason to do so at this stage, as it chases a first drivers’ championship since Hamilton’s seventh in 2020 and first constructors’ crown since its eighth in 2021.
“If a Mercedes can win the race, a Mercedes must win the race,” said deputy team principal Bradley Lord just before Hungary last time out.
“That's what comes first, the team comes first and the constructors’ championship is the team’s primary focus and primary objective.
“We've seen the fight swing all the way out to the point where I think it was being written that there was only one possible winner of the championship, then in the space of three races we've seen that swing completely.
“It's far too early to even be thinking like that. 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's the focus, car’s reliable, keep the cars fast and then enable the drivers to give it their best shot for winning the drivers’ championship.
“But as I say, core principle: if a Mercedes can win, a Mercedes must win. We don't mind which of the two cars it is and we'll do what we need to do in order to ensure that the quickest of those cars on any given Sunday can do that. That's the priority for us.”
Although Mercedes being on course to clinch its first constructors’ crown for five years was expected ahead of the season, it was thought that Russell would lead the charge and not Antonelli.
That’s because the 19-year-old had a very up-and-down rookie campaign in 2025, whereas Russell consistently got the better of Antonelli to finish a strong fourth in the standings.
Yet the F1 veteran has found it tough after winning the Melbourne opener, as the following weekend at Shanghai saw a car fault cost him in qualifying before an untimely safety car in Japan.
An engine failure also forced Russell to retire from the lead in Montreal, he had various unfortunate penalties in Monaco, while he dropped to the back on lap one in Budapest due to an anti-stall at the lights.
Although Antonelli has also had his fair share of misfortune– Barcelona and Silverstone – Russell particularly feels hard done by, though he’s rarely had the pace of his team-mate either.
“Don't underestimate the challenge for the drivers of walking into scenarios like this three or four times a weekend and being told, ‘You're favourite, what's happening, why are you not performing to expectation?’,” added Lord.
“That can build you up but it can also be something to navigate that's a bit more challenging.
“I think undoubtedly George has had misfortune in different races on the technical side with China where the car, for a quirky reason, wouldn't fire properly and so compromised his qualifying, or the penalty situation in Monaco with the incorrectly-serving-that-penalty and the knock-on consequences of that. Then the red flag that compounded the consequences of the penalty.
“So I think he's had a feeling at different points of the year that it never rains but it pours and misfortune seems to compound problem compounds misfortune.
“But there's [the] summer break. He's very clear that he may not be in exactly the position he wants to be, but he's in the fight for this drivers' championship that obviously for every driver is the big target they've had.
“We as a team are fully focused on winning a constructors' championship for the first time in five or six seasons, and he's got a huge role to play in that as well.”
