The 2026 Formula 1 championship has been dominated by Mercedes, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli winning five races in a row and George Russell following closely. But lately, a resurgent Lewis Hamilton finally won his first Grand Prix since 2024 and his first one with Ferrari, at the same time as Antonelli withdrew from the race. This makes Hamilton a serious F1 contender and a threat to Antonelli.
The Italian teenager still leads 41 points ahead of Hamilton, but Hamilton has already passed Russell, nine points ahead. And both Mercedes drivers have previously engaged in duels that benefit drivers from rival teams.
In this situation, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that they may need to "recalibrate" so that they unite against Hamilton. "There is a third party now getting involved in the championship fight, constructor and driver. And in that respect, we will discuss internally with the two drivers how we want to handle a situation where we risk holding each other up", Wolff said, via Sky Sports. "I think it's not going to be a problem. It's just maybe we need to recalibrate."
Wolff said that Mercedes is happy to let them compete freely "as long as there's respect" without too many rules, but they need to look how to handle a situation where both drivers are fighting for a victory and also at the risk of both losing the victory, "always totally transparent to the best interest of the team".
