Kimi Antonelli and George Russell set for Mercedes team orders

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has revealed that he and George Russell will now be subject to team orders from Mercedes under one condition.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has allowed Antonelli and Russell to fight freely across the opening seven rounds, with the duo having come incredibly close while battling in Canada.

Antonelli found himself off the circuit multiple times when fighting his team-mate, with contact almost taking place again in Barcelona.

There was a significant difference between the two battles. In Canada, the duo were fighting while continuing to pull away from the field behind.

In Barcelona, the pair battled while behind Lewis Hamilton, allowing the seven-time world champion to escape.

Had Antonelli and Russell not fought, Mercedes could have taken the fight more directly to Ferrari and Hamilton, rather than finish almost 20 seconds adrift.

The mistake allowed Hamilton to reduce Antonelli's lead in the F1 drivers' standings to 41 points and resulted in a meeting with Wolff.

Following that meeting, Antonelli revealed that if Mercedes are "under pressure" from rivals, team orders will come into operation. If there is no pressure, the drivers will be free to race.

"There was a meeting on the matter, and Toto was very clear," Antonelli said during an interview with Italian media, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

"If we find ourselves in a situation like Barcelona again, under pressure from our rivals, there will be a team order, especially if one of the two cars is showing better pace. 

"If, on the other hand, we’re fighting each other without pressure from another team, we’ll be free to race, just as we were in Montreal."