Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell say they have cleared up their rules of engagement after their fight for the lead during the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix sprint race left the Italian furious.
On lap 6 of the sprint Antonelli attempted to pass Russell around the outside of Montreal’s Turn 1, which would become the inside for Turn 2. But with Russell not giving Antonelli room on exit, the Italian ducked over the grass, leaving him furious over what he felt was his team-mate pushing him off.
Half a lap later Antonelli went off trying another move in Turn 8, which dropped him behind Mclaren’s Lando Norris in third, with the 19-year-old’s radio fury leading to a couple of interventions from team boss Toto Wolff on the team radio.
Between the sprint and grand prix qualifying, both drivers met with the team to further clarify their rules of engagement as Mercedes aims to avoid a repeat while still allowing its two championship contenders to race freely.
Speaking after claiming the front row for Sunday’s race, both Antonelli and Russell said they had cleared the air over how they go racing.
“We had a discussion and we clarified and now it’s all good,” Antonelli said. “We’ve reviewed and we had a chat with Toto and it’s all good now.
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Russell added: “Yeah, as Kimi said, all good. Had a good discussion and we know what we need to do and how we’re going to race each other. And nothing’s going to change because we’ve always had that respect for one another. We’re not going to wave anybody by, doesn’t matter if he’s a competitor or a team-mate.
“Of course, we know the number one rule is never to crash with your team-mate. That isn’t what happened this morning and we finished first and third and that’s what we’ll continue to try and do.”
Saturday’s incident is perhaps best summarised as Antonelli expecting Russell to afford him more room on an outside pass than he was ever going to receive as they fought for a win. Along with learning that lesson, Wolff also wanted to see fewer radio outbursts from his budding star, although Russell sympathised with his mindset after the clash.
“If I was in his position and he was in my position, I probably would have reacted the same,” Russell acknowledged. “Because if something doesn’t pay off in the moment and you feel like you’ve been hard done by, you think the other guy is in the wrong. And that’s just natural. We’re racers, we’re fighters and we wear our heart on our sleeve.
“We’re just in this tough position where everything we think and feel is broadcast to the world. We don’t regret anything we say. Of course, maybe you wish you said something different, but we’re here to fight.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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