P1racenews AI automatic summary:
A former F1 winner believes things will get tense at Mercedes as the title race hots up.
Toto Wolff has been instructed not to interfere with team orders in the Mercedes Formula 1 title battle between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Antonelli currently leads Russell by nine points, having won two of the first three races of the 2026 season.
Despite Russell being the pre-season favorite, Antonelli has capitalized on his teammate’s misfortunes to secure back-to-back victories and emerge as a serious title contender.
There are expectations of incidents between Antonelli and Russell as the season progresses, but Eddie Irvine believes it’s still too early to predict the outcome.
Given their similar performances, Wolff is unable to use team orders to manage the rivalry between the two drivers.
