Andrea Kimi Antonelli wishes to further discuss the team orders issued by Mercedes during the Mexican Grand Prix. The young Italian was instructed during the race to let his teammate George Russell pass him, as Oscar Piastri was increasingly putting pressure on the Silver Arrows. Kimi Antonelli complied with the call, but questions whether it was the right decision. ‘If we had maintained our positions, we would have had a better chance of an undercut,’ says the young rookie.
The team orders from Mercedes came at a time when George Russell was in fifth place behind his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Oscar Piastri was trailing the duo, gradually increasing the pressure. At that point, Russell was convinced that he had the pace to overtake Oliver Bearman, who was ahead of the Mercedes pair. Eventually, Mercedes instructed Kimi Antonelli to let Russell pass, allowing the Brit to try and prove his point on the track.
After the race, the young Italian revealed that he was unaware that Russell had requested a team order. “I didn’t know he was asking for that over the radio,” Kimi Antonelli told the press. “I was only told by the team that I had to switch in the fourth turn, which initially surprised me. But yes, I respect their decision.” However, the driver is not quite ready to let the incident go. “We need to evaluate this and I would like to understand why this decision was made so we can move on. But for now, we are focusing on Brazil.”
‘Hindsight is Always 20/20’
What made the on-track swap between the Mercedes driver even more difficult was that Piastri was right behind the two. “Piastri had a bit more speed, so I had to start defending against him. That was not ideal,” continues Kimi Antonelli. “And then we ended up in a less favorable position.” Although the Australian eventually overtook both Mercedes drivers, Russell did give the position back to his young teammate. “I really appreciated that. But if we had maintained our positions, we probably would have had a better chance to undercut Ollie Bearman and we probably would have had a better chance to maybe finish P4 and P5. But as I said, hindsight is always 20/20.”
