Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admits he was surprised by Mercedes' decision to switch its drivers on the last lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
With the faster Lewis Hamilton stuck behind teammate Valtteri Bottas as the pair closed in on the leading Ferrari duo, Mercedes instructed Bottas to release Hamilton on the proviso that the Briton would give the position back to Bottas if he was unable to challenge second-placed Kimi Raikkonen, who was effectively acting as rear gunner to protect teammate Sebastian Vettel, who in turn was struggling with a steering issue.
Though visibly quicker, Hamilton was unsuccessful in his attempts to pass Raikkonen and ultimately stuck to his earlier promise by allowing Bottas back through at the final corner of the final lap. The triple world champion later explained the rationale behind the swap, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted he was "not in a happy place" following the decision, which he labelled as Mercedes' most difficult in the last five years.
When asked if he is surprised by Mercedes' approach to the title fight, Horner replied: "On one hand yes, on the other hand it would be harsh on Valtteri because you are effectively telling him that you are out of the championship.
"I was impressed that Lewis gave it back because you are just giving away more points to your biggest rival. Ultimately it probably will come down to those two guys [Vettel and Hamilton]. Ferrari's positioning with Kimi was far clearer. I am not privy to all their radio but I can only imagine there was a lively debate."
Red Bull has employed team orders that have been disobeyed in the past, most notably the 'Multi-21' incident at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel disregarded an order not to overtake Mark Webber to win the race.
The team changed its approach to team orders following Vettel's departure and pulled off a similar tactic to the one Mercedes used in Budapest at Monaco in 2015, ensuring it secured a fourth and fifth place finish. Horner believes circumstances need to be different if a team has a driver fighting for the championship.
"We did it in Monaco 2 years ago but it is slightly different when you have not got a driver competing for a championship. Hamilton is their lead driver, at some point you have to back a horse."