Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes was close to directly interfering in the battle between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell for first place at the Italian Grand Prix in Formula 1. The team principal acknowledged that an incident between the two could have turned the result into a ‘disaster’.
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Antonelli made an impressive recovery after starting from 19th position and even fought for the win with his teammate in Monza. Mercedes adopted different strategies during a Virtual Safety Car period, putting new medium tires on the Italian’s car while Russell stayed out on track.
With a significant tire advantage, Antonelli quickly closed the gap to Russell. In an attempt to overtake at the Rettifilo chicane, however, the Italian went through the gravel, managed to return without losing much time, and completed the maneuver shortly after to take the lead and win his home race.
Wolff said he was ready to intervene as the battle intensified: “I had my finger on the button for Marcus (Dudley), Bono (Pete Bonnington), Kimi and George, but I didn’t press it,” said the Mercedes boss.
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The concern increased after Antonelli went off into the gravel, at a moment when Russell had also made a mistake at the first corner and had to avoid going off track. For Wolff, a collision or a bigger problem could have completely compromised the result: “That could have ended in a small disaster regarding the race result, and we would have looked like idiots,” he added.
This victory extended Antonelli’s lead over Russell in the championship to 66 points. Wolff confirmed that Mercedes will discuss the episode with both drivers and use the incident to define how the team intends to handle internal battles in the future: “We will talk about this situation as another element of how we want to race in the future. But I think it was worth showing the team’s competitive spirit,” he concluded.
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