Wolff: Ferrari team orders would have been 'brutal'

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is glad that Ferrari did not implement team orders during the final stages of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday to allow Sebastian Vettel to surpass his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, into second place, as the decision would have been 'brutal'.

Due to a number of high-profile retirements including Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari found themselves with an easy P2 and P3 towards the end of the race.

With Vettel battling Hamilton for the world championship, there was speculation that Ferrari would order a swap between him and Raikkonen in order for the German to get more points.

However, the decision never came, and Wolff thinks that was the right call.

“We wouldn’t have and I’m not surprised that they didn’t,” Wolff told Autosport.

“I think for the sake of the sport and the fans and the drivers, at that stage in the season, the beginning of July, switching drivers is quite a brutal call."

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The decision from Ferrari meant that Vettel did not earn a more significant points lead ahead of Hamilton, and when asked if he was relieved at this, Wolff said there was no cause for relief after a poor weekend.

“There is not much to be relieved about from this race. It’s been painful overall," he replied.

Wolff did, however, that team orders could be implemented by Mercedes further down the line if it meant gaining a championship advantage, even if the situation isn't a desirable one.

“We are at race nine, there’s a long way to go and I think we owe it to the fans – and it’s also the racing mindset that we have – that we won’t be playing for a drivers’ championship in June or July,” the Mercedes team principal added.

“Obviously towards the end of the season, if you go into the last third of the championship and you see there is a solid advantage for one of the drivers, this is the unfortunate situation within any racing team that you need to look at the situation.

“But not now.”