When do Mercedes start favouring Kimi Antonelli over George Russell in F1 title race?

That is the view of former Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese, who believes Mercedes can continue allowing their drivers to race freely while their advantage remains secure.

Antonelli heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix with six victories and a 50-point championship lead over Russell after the latter’s Belgian Grand Prix retirement. However, Patrese expects Mercedes to maintain equal treatment while Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull remain unable to mount a consistent challenge.

“We will see after the summer break if there is a possibility that somebody could come and fight with Mercedes,” Patrese said. “At the moment, I don't see anybody. Mercedes does not have much to worry about. They can leave the two drivers free to fight provided reliability doesn’t become a big problem.”

Patrese pointed towards McLaren’s 2025 title campaign as evidence of how quickly an internal battle can become complicated when an outside contender applies pressure.

McLaren’s so-called “Papaya Rules” were manageable while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fought between themselves. Max Verstappen’s late championship charge changed the situation. Papaya rules weren’t a problem until Max Verstappen came along and almost took the title.

“This year there is no one like Max to give the two Mercedes drivers any trouble. At least I don’t think so! Unless the summer break changes things and somebody discovers something special,” Patrese explained.

Without that external threat, Patrese sees little justification for Mercedes imposing team orders: “I think Mercedes has an easy job because they can leave their drivers to do their own thing without the need for any team orders.

“Maybe the problem for George is that in his mind Mercedes wants to give an advantage to Kimi. But I think they play fair. George had engine problem and then also Antonelli had the same problem. They give equal chances to both drivers," added the Italian motorsport veteran.

Russell’s recent technical problems have raised questions over whether reliability could influence how Mercedes manages its drivers during the second half of the season.

He reported a loss of straight-line performance before crashing out at Spa, while Antonelli has also suffered mechanical setbacks during the campaign. Patrese believes those failures reflect the complexity of Formula 1’s new power-unit regulations rather than preferential treatment within Mercedes.

He said: “I don't know what the problem is. With the new rules the engines are very complicated.. To make everything fine and reliable and work and be competitive is a massive job. Time is on Mercedes’ side though, because the more information you have, the more you can solve problems. Then reliability becomes better and better.

"From every Grand Prix I think they are learning something about what went wrong and why and how to put it right. I don’t think reliability will be a problem for Mercedes later this season," concluded Patrese.

For now, Antonelli and Russell remain free to fight. Mercedes may only be forced to choose sides if a rival returns from the summer break ready to challenge them.
( Riccardo Patrese speaking to Compare.bet, who offer the latest betting sites)