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George Russell rejects Mercedes team orders amid championship fight ZANDVOORT – George Russell has shut down suggestions of team orders at Mercedes, insisting the team’s sole priority is to develop the W17 and recover its early-season advantage. Russell clawed back three points against his teammate Kimi Antonelli with his [result] in Saturday’s Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix. The teammates remain separated in the standings by Lewis Hamilton, with Antonelli holding a 53-point advantage over the Ferrari driver. George Russell has made Mercedes’ position on team orders very clear Although Russell entered the 2026 F1 season as the pre-season favourite, Antonelli grabbed the lead in the standings at the Japanese Grand Prix with his second victory in his five-race winning streak. The Italian held a 50-point advantage over Hamilton as Formula 1 headed into its summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix, with Russell a further nine points off the pace. But while Russell won the Sprint to score the maximum eight points, leading Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris across the line, Ferrari and McLaren’s recent gains have raised questions about whether Mercedes needs to focus solely on one driver for the championship. Russell shut that down. “It’s not even a consideration at the moment,” the Briton told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media. “It’s not even halfway through, and we need to just keep on pushing as a team. “We’re behind the curve of development. Our rivals have definitely brought their upgrades before us, and I think it’ll be very interesting when we bring our upgrades — when they will be – and how that impacts our performance. “I’m hoping that will push us more to the results we were seeing more consistently at the start of the year. “Of course, we’ve continued to perform very strongly. However, the teams like McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari have been really, really close and given a really good fight recently. “So at the moment it’s just business as usual.” The Briton trails Antonelli by 53 points after Saturday’s Sprint but will line up ahead of him at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Mercedes teammates qualified second and third with Russell ahead, while Norris put his McLaren on pole position. Russell says while he is not thinking about the title, if he gets the results on the track, he’ll claw his way back into the fight. “Not really thinking about it,” he said in the build-up to the Zandvoort weekend, “just taking it race by race. “I know I need to improve the performance if I want to be in the fight. So that’s the main priority. And if the performance improves, then the points reduce, and it’s as simple as that, really.” Additional reporting by Thomas Maher Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists. You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more! Read Next: Max Verstappen says ‘easier’ F1 cars narrowing driver differences after Liam Lawson result