Mercedes decided not to impose team orders after the intense clashes between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at the Formula 1 Canadian GP. Even after the incidents between the two drivers in Montreal, the team confirmed that both will remain free to compete for positions on track.
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This definition is important for the rest of the season, as Antonelli and Russell remain involved in the fight for victories and the championship. After internal meetings held before the Monaco GP, the team management chose to trust the judgment of its drivers, instead of establishing stricter rules.
Antonelli revealed that the conversations took place right after the Canadian weekend and continued in the days leading up to the Monte Carlo race. According to the Italian, all episodes of the race were analyzed before a joint conclusion was reached.
“We had this conversation after the race weekend and also a few days before coming here. We reviewed all the episodes of the race in Montreal. Basically, the conclusion was that we can race freely against each other, as long as there is respect and we don’t put ourselves in a situation that could harm one of us or both,” he stated.
The championship leader highlighted that Mercedes does not intend to create restrictions for internal competition: “The team does not want to set rules. Of course, they want both cars to finish and as many points as possible. This is also very clear to us, because we race for ourselves, we want to win and be the best, but we also race for the team and we want to reward more than two thousand people who work in Brackley and Brixworth,” he said.
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Antonelli believes that the dispute will continue as intense as in Canada, albeit with a more careful approach: “We will continue racing against each other as we did in Canada, but in a slightly smarter way. The team wants us to race freely because that is the right way. You can’t put a leash on a driver who is fighting for victories and the championship and simply tell him to stay behind,” he added.
Russell reinforced his teammate’s position and assured that there are no concerns after the recent episodes. The Briton highlighted that the team’s trust has been maintained and that the drivers know exactly what the limits are within direct competition.
“There is no concern whatsoever. The conclusion was that we need to be reliable and that we are reliable. That’s what we do as drivers. We push everything to the limit on every lap and, when we are racing against each other, we also push the competition to the limit. We will continue to fight hard. We know each other’s limits and that was positive,” Russell concluded.
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