What happened
Mercedes lost valuable places in Mexico due to a controversial team order midway through the race. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were driving around places five to seven at that point. An early collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton immediately changed the order. Russell had to run wide and dropped back to spot seven. Antonelli took advantage and became the leading Mercedes.
Key moments in a row
- Lap opening stage: Verstappen and Hamilton caused chaos, causing Russell to lose positions.
- Lap 22: Antonelli pitted first.
- Lap 25: Russell followed and by lap 30 they were riding close together again.
- Lap 41: Mercedes instructed a reversal of positions (swap).
- Final situation: Both cars crossed the line sixth and seventh.
Radio and voltages in the car
On the board radio, the frustrations sounded clear. Russell reported several times that he had more pace and wanted to attack. The team warned him about high brake and tyre temperatures. Russell replied that he had a faster car right behind him and that standing still was destroying his tyres. Eventually, the team instructed him to switch positions. Antonelli reacted with surprise and asked why. The engineer said it was a team decision and mentioned Turn 4 as the place to do the change.
Why the switch failed
The timing of the changeover proved fatal. Russell said he already had worn out brakes, tyres and engine, and therefore could not pass Bearman. While they were changing, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen also passed. As a result, Mercedes drivers finished lower than they hoped: P6 and P7 instead of possibly P4 and P5.
Drivers' reactions
Kimi Antonelli said after the race that the instruction surprised him. He wanted to look back with the team. Antonelli felt he was close to Russell and needed to push more. That made his race vulnerable to Piastri. He said if they had held positions, they could have possibly undercut Ollie Bearman and finished higher.
Russell put the frustration on rivals who he said took advantage by cutting a corner on the opening lap. He said that if he had come third out of turn one, they could also have finished third. He also called the team's decision-making awkward: either you perform a change immediately or you don't. According to him, the decision came too late.
What the team said
Team boss Toto Wolff was not physically present in Mexico but followed from a distance. A team representative said Wolff wants the pit wall to make decisions and not direct from above. The team said it is difficult to say whether an earlier instruction would have changed the result. They pointed out that it was difficult to overtake that day due to dirty air and long DRS trains. Final analysis was yet to take place.
Consequences and next steps
Mercedes lost valuable points in Mexico in the battle for constructor position. Both drivers want a thorough evaluation of race decisions. The team faces the choice of making clearer rules for team orders. Otherwise, it risks seeing more frequent friction within the team.
In a nutshell
- Team order caused dissatisfaction among both drivers.
- Timing of the swap proved wrong.
- Mercedes loses points in the constructors' classification.
- There will be a team review before the race in Brazil.
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