Wolff: An interesting conversation with the drivers is ahead.

      Toto Wolff believes that his team may have missed out on victory in Barcelona because George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were allowed to compete against each other.

      At the seventh round of the season, the Mercedes team suffered its first defeat, which was effectively influenced by the moment when a virtual safety car (VSC) was introduced on the track. This happened because Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin suffered a battery failure after 37 laps of the race, and his car needed to be evacuated from the side of the track.

      It was then, on lap 41, that Lewis Hamilton made his last, third pit stop, after which he returned to the track without losing his leading position. Just before that, on lap 36, Russell made his second – and also final – pit stop, after which, thanks to fresh tires, he began to catch up with Ferrari No. 44 and theoretically should have returned to the lead when Hamilton turned onto the pit lane.

      The head of the Mercedes team, commenting on the results of yesterday's Grand Prix, suggested that his drivers could have been closer to Lewis's Ferrari at the critical moment when the VSC was introduced if they hadn't lost time, as Kimi Antonelli caught up with his teammate, who was leading at that moment, and George had to fend off the Italian's attacks.

      "Throughout the race, we played a team game while trying to act correctly," Wolff stated on Sky Sports. "Perhaps this cost us the victory. And this needs to be discussed with our drivers: how to act in a situation where someone else is involved in the fight for victory?

      They were having quite a fierce rivalry with each other just before George's pit stop. I think that's when we lost five or six seconds to Lewis. This needs to be discussed and conclusions drawn for the future.

      We did not interfere in their battle, as they always fight each other in such a manner. But this situation needs to be analyzed together with them: how to act if there is a speed difference, and we risk losing the victory. I foresee that an interesting conversation lies ahead. But in the interests of the team, we must always adhere to the principle of complete transparency."