Guenther Steiner claims Mercedes has made George Russell’s support role clear

Agosto 29, 2026 lojamais44@gmail.com

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes will have informed George Russell that his role for the remainder of the 2026 season is to support Kimi Antonelli’s championship campaign.

While Russell arrived at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as a clear favourite for the 2026 drivers’ title, his team-mate became the youngest driver to lead the standings after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix.

In the first half of the season, Russell won two grands prix and Antonelli won six. The Italian currently leads with 242 points, while Russell is second on 183 points, level with Lewis Hamilton.

The 28-year-old was asked to allow Antonelli through during the Dutch Grand Prix, a decision that has once again raised questions about the team dynamics, despite team chief Toto Wolff claiming the instruction had nothing to do with the championship.

Russell briefly questioned the instruction over team radio before allowing his team-mate to pass. Russell, who finished third behind race winner Lando Norris and Antonelli, confirmed to the media after the race that it was the right choice, as his team-mate would likely have passed him anyway on fresher tyres.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner suggested that a clear conversation must have taken place over the summer break to establish the new rules of engagement, although this has not been confirmed by the team or drivers.

“I wouldn’t say they told him, ‘You’re the number two driver.’ 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 explained.

“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.”