Mercedes quickly worked to cool down any tension between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli after the intense duel in the Sprint race of the Formula 1 Canadian GP. After a Saturday marked by complaints from the young Italian on the team radio and aggressive maneuvers on the track, the two drivers assured that the relationship within the team remains strong.
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Russell won the Sprint in Montreal, while Antonelli finished in third position, but the result took a back seat after the two protagonized a tough battle in the first laps. The young Italian went off track twice during the fight and showed irritation with the defensive stance of his teammate.
During the short race, Antonelli complained over the radio about the British driver’s maneuvers, before being interrupted by engineer Peter Bonnington and also by Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss asked the Italian driver to leave the matter for an internal conversation and avoid continuing to argue over the team radio.
With tempers more controlled, the focus quickly shifted to the qualifying session for Sunday’s GP, which ended with a Mercedes one-two on the grid. Russell secured pole position, surpassing Antonelli in the final moments of the session, while the team also confirmed setup changes aiming at the possibility of rain in the main race.
After the qualifying session, Antonelli explained that the situation had already been resolved internally: “We talked, cleared everything up and now everything is fine. We reviewed what happened and had a conversation with Toto,” said the Italian.
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Russell reinforced his teammate’s statement and highlighted that the relationship between the two remains unchanged: “Nothing will change because we have always had respect for each other. We’re not just going to let someone pass, whether a competitor or a teammate,” he said.
The Brit also recalled that Mercedes’ priority remains to avoid accidents between its drivers: “Rule number one is never to crash with your teammate. That didn’t happen this morning and we finished first and third,” Russell added.
Asked who took the initiative for the conversation after the Sprint, Russell said the dialogue happened naturally within the team: “It was a joint thing. We are teammates and have a good relationship. When the helmet is on it’s one thing, outside the car we are professionals. Now that is already part of the past and we are looking forward,” he concluded.
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