Russell Comments on Potential Mercedes Team Orders

Pulse Sports Team 20:00 - 20 August 2026

George Russell has unequivocally dismissed any notion of accepting team orders to aid his Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, stating that such an idea is not even being considered at this stage.

The British driver trails his teammate by 59 points with 12 races remaining in the 2026 Formula 1 season. Russell currently sits third in the championship, also behind Lewis Hamilton, who hopes to mount a title challenge with his Ferrari in the latter half of the campaign.

When asked if he would be willing to accept team orders to help Antonelli win the title, Russell insisted that the prospect "isn't even being considered at the moment."

Russell added: "You know, we're not even halfway through the season, and we just need to keep pushing as a team. We're behind on the development curve."

"Our rivals definitely introduced their upgrades before us, and I think it will be very interesting when we bring ours, when that happens, and how it impacts our performance. Hopefully, it will propel us towards the results we were seeing more consistently at the start of the year."

"Of course, we've continued to perform very strongly. However, teams like McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari have been really, really close and have given us very serious competition lately. So, you know, for now, it's business as usual."