Mercedes turns into F1’s team to beat — and Toto Wolff vows “Rosberg‑Hamilton chaos will never happen again”
The Mercedes boss speaks about the title fight between his two drivers and made it clear what would happen if things got out of control: “I’ll fire them.”
Mercedes has emerged as the dominant force this season. The Brackley‑based team nailed the new regulations, producing the strongest car on the grid and winning eight of the first eleven Sunday races. That surge sent Kimi Antonelli into the summer break as championship leader with 219 points, while George Russell sits third, 59 points behind his teammate.
But that fight for the title has also pushed the two Mercedes drivers into wheel‑to‑wheel battles — sometimes right on the edge. And for many fans, those tense moments have awakened memories of the explosive rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, whose clashes from 2013 to 2016 defined an era at Mercedes.
Their peak came in 2016, when both fought for the championship and crossed the line more than once. Rosberg ultimately won the title, but for team boss Toto Wolff, that season was a nightmare he refuses to relive.
“I will not allow it. That’s never going to happen to me again. That’s never going to happen to the team again. Simple. I’m just taking a driver out if he does that,” Wolff told RacingNews365.
Full confidence in Antonelli and Russell
Despite the warning, Wolff praised both of his drivers, making clear he trusts them completely — even when luck has turned against them.
He pointed to Russell’s heartbreak in Montreal: “George was in the lead in Montreal, and then he DNF’d. So that could have been another win for him, and certainly it would have put him in a better frame of mind for the races to come.”
Wolff added that Russell has been dealing with a lingering engine issue that cost him two‑tenths per lap, increasing pressure on a driver who arrived this season as a clear favorite.
“The best ones, they are able to turn things around. So I think he can, absolutely.”
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