Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli wants his team to provide further “clarity” over its rules of engagement after a tense battle with George Russell in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint left him upset at his team-mate.
Starting from the front row, poleman Russell and second-placed Antonelli fought out a close battle in the opening stages of the 23-lap sprint when the pair came to blows at Montreal’s awkward Turn 1-2 chicane.
Antonelli attempted a pass around the outside of Turn 1 as it would yield the inside for Turn 2, but had to escape onto the grass after Russell refused to yield ground on exit. The battle then resumed in Turn 8, with Antonelli sailing off the track and ending up behind Lando Norris in third.
In the heat of the moment, the incident angered Antonelli as the Italian called for a “naughty” Russell to receive a penalty for pushing him off the track. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had to intervene twice on the team radio to urge Antonelli to stop venting his frustration in public.
Speaking after the race Antonelli said Russell’s robust defence was not how he had understood Mercedes’ internal rules on engagement, and he urged the Brackley team to provide more “clarity”.
Kimi Antonelli finished third behind Lando Norris
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Obviously, we do meetings before races and that’s what we say in the room,” Antonelli said. “Then, of course, we race to win and we try to do our best to defend our position. Probably I understood the significance of that meeting a bit differently.
“Emotions were very high in the moment and obviously I was very annoyed. But I just need to recheck and for sure we’re going to talk about it and we’re going to clarify that.”
When quizzed further by Motorsport.com if it meant Antonelli would change his approach to racing Russell if the Briton’s defence was within bounds, he replied: “For sure. I think, we probably just need a bit of clarity. And then once it’s clear, then it’s all going to be fine, I think.
“Definitely I need to probably ask again. The main thing for the team is that there’s no contact, that we don’t crash into each other, which today at the end was very close.”
Having seen Antonelli win the last three grands prix from pole to establish a championship lead, Russell insisted he didn’t race his team-mate any differently and felt the 19-year-old’s move around the outside was ambitious to begin with.
“It was just a good, hard battle and obviously I defended into Turn 1, and you never get overtaken around the outside of that corner, so I knew it was kind of pretty safe,” he said. “But kudos to Kimi for giving it a go and I respect that, and obviously we came out unscathed.
“From my side, I didn’t think I did anything wrong and I wasn’t investigated. So, I guess race directors and stewards thought the same, but I need to check it and it is clear that between team-mates we race hard and fair and no contact and that’s always the objective.
“I wasn’t racing Kimi any harder than I would have raced Lando in the same position.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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