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Guenther Steiner has singled out Toto Wolff for praise after the Mercedes team principal allowed Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to fight freely during a tense Canadian Grand Prix weekend. Steiner, speaking on the Red Flags podcast, called Wolff his "rockstar" of Montreal for resisting the temptation to intervene as his two drivers clashed repeatedly on track. With Mercedes having won all five races in the opening phase of the 2026 season, Wolff's approach to managing internal competition has become a defining feature of the team's campaign.
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Antonelli secured his fourth win in five races in Canada after Russell retired with a battery failure, a result that stretched the Italian rookie's championship lead to 43 points. Both the sprint race and the main Grand Prix featured multiple near-contact moments between the two Mercedes drivers, prompting tension on the pit wall and raising questions over team orders. Wolff, however, maintained a clear message: race hard, race fair, but race.
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Steiner, who stepped down as Haas team principal at the end of 2023, suggested that Wolff's calm under pressure deserves recognition. "Toto Wolff, and you know why?" Steiner said. "Because he let them race. He didn't interfere, said nothing. He just let them go, you have no idea." Steiner added that it would have been easy for Wolff to step in and impose control, particularly given Mercedes' dominant position at the front of the field, but the Austrian chose not to.
Radio messages tell a more nuanced story
Wolff did, in fact, communicate with both drivers over team radio on multiple occasions, particularly during the sprint race when Antonelli voiced sharp frustration with Russell's defensive tactics. The Italian made clear his displeasure, though Wolff's interventions remained measured and stopped short of issuing direct team orders. Steiner's point appears to be less about the absence of communication and more about Wolff's willingness to let the racing continue without imposing hierarchy.
"Hats off to him," Steiner continued. "I have huge respect for him. In a situation like that, it's easy to think: 'Hey guys, what's happening here?' But no, he let them go, he let them race. Hats off, that guy is the rockstar of Canada."
Russell faces uphill task to close gap
Russell's retirement in Montreal leaves him in a difficult position. A 43-point deficit after five rounds is significant, particularly with Antonelli continuing to extract maximum results from the dominant W17. Unless Mercedes' performance drops off or Antonelli's consistency falters, Russell will need a string of perfect weekends combined with misfortune for his teammate to remain a credible championship threat. Wolff's hands-off approach may suit the team's public image, but it also ensures that the internal battle remains as fierce as the external competition.
Mercedes' decision to allow open racing between its drivers reflects confidence in both its car advantage and its drivers' maturity. Whether that confidence holds as the season progresses, and the points gap widens or narrows, will define Wolff's management as much as the results themselves.
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