The Formula 1 sprint in Canada began aggressively enough, as polesitter George Russell pulled up on the grid with his Mercedes angled aggressively to cut off any challenge from team-mate Kimi Antonelli at launch.
But this was nothing compared with the events of lap six, when Antonelli tried to pass around the outside into Turn 1, only to be given no room at all – and indeed a tap of wheel-to-wheel contact. That sent Antonelli into the run-off area and then, as he lined up to try another pass into Turn 8 later in the lap, he ran over the grass, enabling Lando Norris’ McLaren to slip by into second place.
Antonelli complained repeatedly over the radio about Russell’s driving etiquette, warranting not just an instruction from race engineer Peter Bonnington to focus on the race, but also two interventions from team principal Toto Wolff. It’s not unknown for Wolff to take to the airwaves to either throw an arm around a driver’s shoulder or read the riot act, but seldom does he do it twice.
In this case, the very emphatic message was that matters such as these are not to be discussed over the radio.
Afterwards, Wolff was keen to frame the race positively, as a learning experience for both drivers as they battle for a world championship for the first time. He has been in this scenario before, mediating between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during their ultimately toxic rivalry as team-mates between 2013 and 2016.
F1’s driving standards guidelines state that when attempting to pass on the outside, the attacking driver’s front axle has to be beyond the front axle line of the other car at the apex in order to be intitled to “racing room”
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
“It was good,” Wolff said after the race. “Good cinema, and the race was good as well. For us, actually a very good learning experience about how we want to do things – or also how we don’t want to do them.
“You can see how quickly you give away an advantage when you simply fight each other too hard. And there are always two people involved.
“So now we’ll discuss it: what can we learn from it, what conclusions can we draw, so that in the future we simply avoid these situations.
“If it’s not George but another driver, then you also wouldn’t expect him to drive alongside you there and invite you through. And I think that’s the consequence.
“Team-mates can overtake each other in moments like these. But probably defending that hard, the way it happens when it’s about the championship – you can’t expect someone to just open the door anymore.”
On the radio, Antonelli had complained not only that Russell had pushed him off, but that his “mirror was alongside”. This is a reference to the FIA’s much-discussed driving standards guidelines document, which describes the circumstances in which drivers are entitled to “racing room” when attempting to overtake.
Actually, though, the guidelines differ for attempted passes on the inside and outside lines. When trying to overtake on the outside, the attacking driver’s front axle has to be beyond the front axle of the car they are trying to pass at the apex, rather than alongside the mirror.
This, of course, will form part of that internal discussion Wolff will have to mediate once his drivers calm down. But he remained outwardly supportive of Antonelli’s emotional reaction to the battle, as a championship contender.
“You can’t expect to have a lion in the car and a puppy outside of it,” Wolff said.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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