Mercedes says its late team-order decision at Zandvoort was made to protect George Russell from Ferrari and help secure his third-place finish.

Mercedes has explained the thinking behind its team orders at the Dutch Grand Prix, revealing that asking George Russell to let Andrea Kimi Antonelli through was primarily designed to protect Russell’s podium finish.

The instruction came late in the race after Antonelli stopped for fresh tires during a Virtual Safety Car. Russell stayed out and temporarily moved ahead of his teammate.

Mercedes wanted to protect Russell

The key moment came after the Virtual Safety Car on lap 55.

Ferrari took advantage of the neutralization to pit both cars for fresh tires, while Mercedes brought Antonelli into the pits one lap later.

George Russell was asked to let Andrea Kimi Antonelli through during the closing stages at Zandvoort.

Antonelli rejoined behind Russell, but he had a major tire advantage.

Mercedes could have allowed the two drivers to fight, but the team feared that would cost Russell valuable time and expose him to the Ferraris behind.

According to track engineering director Andrew Shovlin, the objective was therefore not simply to give Antonelli his position back.

It was to save Russell time and improve his chances of defending third place.

Why Antonelli had to pass

Antonelli had enough grip to attack Russell on his newer tires.

Mercedes believed that allowing an internal battle would create unnecessary risk.

Antonelli’s fresher tires gave him the pace to attack Russell in the closing stages.

Every second Russell lost while defending against his teammate would have given Ferrari more opportunities to close the gap.

Mercedes therefore ordered Russell to move aside on lap 65, allowing Antonelli to continue ahead.

Russell accepted the decision after the race, acknowledging that Antonelli could probably have passed him anyway.

Russell then had to defend from Hamilton

Once the positions were switched, Russell faced another challenge.

Lewis Hamilton was closing rapidly from behind and eventually challenged for the final podium position.

Russell defended third place from Lewis Hamilton after Mercedes swapped positions between its two drivers.

Russell managed to hold Hamilton behind and finished third, just 0.8 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.

Charles Leclerc crossed the line in fifth, another 0.5 seconds behind Hamilton.

Shovlin praised Russell’s defense, particularly because Mercedes did not have the fastest car during the race.

Mercedes believes the strategy worked

The result gave Mercedes a double podium, with Antonelli second and Russell third behind Lando Norris.

Shovlin said Russell’s defense was one of the highlights of the race and praised him for completing a strong weekend that included pole and victory in the Sprint.

Russell had also made clear that he never intended to ignore the team’s instruction.

Mercedes has a standing rule that its drivers should not fight when they are running different strategies, with positions exchanged when necessary.

For Mercedes team orders, Zandvoort provided a clear example of that policy. The decision to move Russell aside was not simply about prioritizing Antonelli; Mercedes believed it gave Russell the best possible chance of keeping the podium.

Russell ultimately finished third, while Antonelli remained second in the championship fight.

Max Verstappen will start from the back of a 101-driver field at Silverstone on September 16, attempting to overtake 100 rivals in a unique karting race.

Max Verstappen is taking on one of the most unusual racing challenges of his career.

The four-time Formula 1 world champion will compete against 100 other drivers in a special karting event at Silverstone on September 16.

Dubbed “Max vs 100,” the race will feature a custom-built karting circuit and see Verstappen start at the very back of a 101-driver grid.

Verstappen Must Overtake 100 Rivals

The challenge is simple on paper but extremely difficult in practice.

Verstappen must work his way through the entire field before time runs out, making traffic management and overtaking the biggest challenges of the event.

Max Verstappen will start last in a 101-driver karting race at Silverstone.

The field will include Red Bull athletes, celebrities, content creators, and amateur racers.

Red Bull has already confirmed several participants, including ultramarathon runner Arda Saatçi, basketball player Chris Matthews, freestyle mountain biker Matt Jones, and streamers TheGrefg, Caedrel, and TheDonato.

The complete entry list has not yet been announced.

A Return to Verstappen’s Karting Roots

The event is particularly fitting for Verstappen because karting was where his racing career began.

The Dutchman started karting at just four years old and spent years competing before progressing through the junior categories and eventually reaching Formula 1.

Verstappen began racing karts at four and says the discipline taught him the fundamentals of racing.

Verstappen says karting teaches many of the fundamentals required in motorsport, including starts, defending, overtaking, and understanding available grip.

He also believes that his extensive experience in karting allows him to quickly rediscover the feeling of a kart whenever he returns to one.

A Custom Silverstone Circuit

The karting track has been specifically designed for the event by French driver and race director David Terrien.

Terrien has already tested the layout alongside two-time iRacing world champion Sebastian Job.

David Terrien designed the custom Silverstone karting circuit specifically for Verstappen’s 100-driver challenge.

McLaren says its appeal against the Monaco Grand Prix result is aimed at protecting sporting integrity while also recovering points lost from Oscar Piastri’s penalty.

Why McLaren challenged the Monaco result

Several drivers were penalized during the Monaco Grand Prix for allegedly exceeding the pit-lane speed limit.

Among them were Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly.

It was later discovered that the timing loop used to calculate the speed at the entrance to Monaco’s pit lane had produced false positives.

Oscar Piastri was among the drivers penalized for an alleged pit-lane speeding infringement at Monaco.

Most drivers had already served their penalties during the race.

Gasly was different. The Alpine driver received two five-second penalties after the race, dropping him from third to seventh.

Alpine subsequently requested a right of review, and the stewards overturned both penalties, restoring Gasly to the podium.

That decision also changed the positions of Isack Hadjar and Piastri.

McLaren says the process was unfair

McLaren and Red Bull subsequently launched appeals because they questioned why Gasly was able to have his penalties removed while other drivers did not receive the same opportunity.

Stella says this is the central issue behind McLaren’s appeal.

McLaren argues that the treatment of Gasly’s penalties raised broader questions about fairness between competitors.

According to Stella, the team wants the FIA appeal process to clarify the principle that should apply equally to all competitors.

He stressed that the issue goes beyond McLaren’s own interests and concerns the integrity of Formula 1.

The technical question of how the pit-lane speed was calculated is important, but Stella considers the broader procedural issue even more significant.

McLaren also wants its championship points back

There is also a direct competitive reason for McLaren’s appeal.

Piastri had already served his penalty during the Monaco race, meaning McLaren says the team suffered a tangible loss that could not be appealed in the same way as Gasly’s post-race sanctions.

McLaren says Piastri’s penalty had a direct impact on its championship points.

Stella therefore described the appeal as having two objectives.

The first is to establish a fair principle for all competitors. The second is to address the impact the Monaco decision had on McLaren’s own constructors’ championship campaign.

The FIA International Court of Appeal’s decision could therefore have implications beyond the Monaco result itself.

For McLaren Monaco appeal, the team is arguing that the case is about more than recovering lost points. Stella says the outcome should clarify how sporting procedures are applied when an initial penalty is later found to have been based on incorrect data.