Kimi Antonelli secured another victory in Formula 1 by winning the Canadian GP and further extending his lead in the championship. Even experiencing a great phase with Mercedes, the Italian made it clear after the race that he believes in a reaction from Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, and McLaren in the upcoming stages.
Read more F1: Bortoleto regrets not «fighting» for points in Canada
The young driver achieved his fourth consecutive win of the season after an intense race in Montreal. The result gained even more weight after the retirement of George Russell, his teammate at Mercedes, allowing the gap between the two to increase to 43 points in the standings.
Much of the race was marked by the direct duel between the Mercedes drivers. Antonelli highlighted that the battle with Russell was one of the most fun parts of the race, especially due to the challenging conditions of the circuit caused by strong and unstable wind.
“It was a fun battle with George. We were really on the limit and it wasn’t easy with the wind. Very strong gusts. Turn 10 was very difficult. It was very tight and the retirement was a pity for him because it would have been a very cool battle until the end. But we will enjoy it. Another win,” said the Italian.
After Russell’s retirement, Antonelli began managing the lead alone. According to the Mercedes driver, the priority at that moment was to control tire wear after noticing the appearance of graining on the front left tire.
Read more F1: Unusual problem takes Fernando Alonso out of the Canadian GP
“When I was alone, I really tried to manage the tires because graining started to appear on the front right. Now we are looking forward to the next race,” added the winner of the Canadian stage.
Even in a comfortable position in the championship, Antonelli stated that Mercedes cannot slow down the development pace. The Italian highlighted that Russell was very competitive throughout the weekend and believes that the rivals are closing the gap to the German team.
“We have to keep raising the level because George was extremely fast this weekend. We were very balanced. Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren are definitely coming back, so we need to keep pushing and be ready for anything,” Antonelli concluded after the victory in Canada.
Read more Vote on F1MANIA.NET Score and choose the best drivers of the F1 Canadian GP
