Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has urged Mercedes not to impose team orders on its Formula 1 drivers despite growing tensions within the Brackley-based team.
Mercedes’ dominance of the 2026 championship has thrown up a dilemma for Mercedes – how to manage its drivers in a title battle.
The first signs of tensions were seen in Canada, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli involved in a Sprint Race clash that could have ended in disaster.
Both drivers were hauled in front of Team Principal Toto Wolff to discuss rules of engagement, as the Silver Arrows prepare for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Croft believes that despite the growing tensions, Mercedes should not impose team orders or attempt to control their drivers, even if a risk of gamesmanship from either one increases.
“Mercedes have already got a fairly handsome lead in the Constructors’ Championship,” he said.
“That will only grow I think. Monaco they might not have all their own way, but they’re still the class of the field.
“They don’t need an intervention yet. Didn’t need an intervention with McLaren last year.
“You are paying these drivers handsomely. You should trust them. Every employer should trust their employees to do their job because you’ve put your faith in them by giving them that job.
“So, stay away for the time being. Don’t intervene. Don’t change it. Just keep reminding them of what those rules of engagement are and give us fans a real treat.
“I’m not here to give Toto Wolff advice, but if I was, it’d be, ‘shh’, for the time being. And then when they do take themselves out, if they take themselves out, that’s when you can intervene as a team.
“But I don’t think anything we’ve seen at the weekend is going to spill over into the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg type of rivalry. I think there’s a very healthy respect. But we’ll see what skulduggery and tricks might get played in the future.”
Jamie Chadwick highlights different mindset of Mercedes drivers
Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick highlighted the near miss for both drivers in the Sprint Race, and the changing mindset of Antonelli that she believes gives him an edge over Russell at present.
“They were a few laps away from that ending in tears, so I don’t know if George’s engine failure came at a good time for Mercedes in terms of intra-team politics,” she said.
“In terms of the battle we saw on track on Sunday, I think we were almost expecting that given what we saw in the Sprint. It just seems like with the new regulations, the way that they can follow closely and can’t really get away from each other, means they’re constantly fighting each other. I have not seen racing like that for the lead of the race in a long time.”
I think the hot-headedness of Kimi is what’s giving him that tenth of a second, especially when he was behind George and chasing him.
“You could see he had the bit between his teeth. He had that extra hunger, extra motivation to try and get on par with his team-mate. And I think that tenth of a second, or that hunger has come from the fact that he came off the back of winning three races and his confidence has just grown.
“He keeps saying he’s not thinking about the championship, but he now has a big advantage. He’s thinking of it as, ‘I don’t care I’ve got an experienced team-mate, I have every right to be ahead of you today’. And that’s how he’s driving.”
Team orders have always existed in F1, but take on a whole new meaning when applied during a title battle. Mercedes’ history of letting its drivers race looks set to continue, as the genie is now very much out of the bottle.
Any order imposed now will leave the driver on the receiving end of one feeling disadvantaged, leading to a dangerous political situation. Despite the risks, letting Russell and Antonelli race seems to be the best choice.
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