The atmosphere heated up at Mercedes during the sprint race of the Canadian GP last Saturday (23), after the incident between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. However, the team principal, Toto Wolff, treated the episode as part of internal learning and reinforced the team’s “rules of engagement,” even citing Max Verstappen as an example of conduct in on-track battles.
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The collision happened at Turn 1 on lap 6 of the Sprint, when Antonelli tried to overtake Russell on the outside, ended up on the grass, and then went off track again at Turn 8. As a result, he lost second place to Lando Norris. On the radio, the young Italian complained about being “pushed off” by his teammate.
During the race, Wolff responded: “Focus on driving, not complaining on the radio.” After the Sprint, he reinforced: “This is the fourth time we’ve talked about this. We will handle this internally, not on the team radio.”
Despite the tension, the situation was quickly resolved between the drivers and the team before qualifying. Later, Russell secured pole position for the Canadian GP, with Antonelli right behind. In an interview with Sky Sports F1, Wolff stated that the rivalry is part of the sport and recalled the times of the rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton:
“That was good, as sport should be. We’ve been through this with Nico and Lewis,” he said. According to him, Mercedes talked with the drivers to define how they want to contest positions within the team.
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Wolff also recalled Hamilton’s frequent complaints over the radio in the past. “When Lewis made his fiery speeches, I would interrupt him. I remember saying: ‘Just drive the car. Stop complaining,’” he said.
Explaining the incident, the team principal highlighted that the situation started on the previous lap, when Russell left little space for Antonelli in the final chicane. He then cited Verstappen as an example of aggressiveness in battles.
“Would Max have left space there? No. So, how do we want to do this among teammates?” he questioned.
Finally, Wolff stated that the drivers themselves defined the limits of this internal rivalry. “These are the rules now, and it’s a framework they themselves established, and we are satisfied.”
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