10 years later, another derby
In Canada, Mercedes turned the clock back 10 years: it was 2026 but it felt like 2016. The two silver arrows of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli put on a show during the first laps, engaging in a duel on the edge of the regulations that brought to mind the battles between Hamilton and Rosberg from the last decade and certainly made Toto Wolff’s blood run cold. Also because the two world championship contenders, besides battling on track, did not hold back some sharp comments over the radio.
Read more Russell: “Antonelli has often seen the grass, I am happy that we both finished the race”
Antonelli in particular – who was the loser of this duel since he crossed the finish line in third position, thus losing two points in the standings to Russell, instead of just one – appeared extremely aggressive. The battle between #63 and #12 exploded during the fifth lap, when Antonelli forced a very optimistic attack on the outside of turn 1, then running wide and cutting the corner. Later, in the same lap, the battle heated up again at turn 8: this time it was Russell who threw elbows in defense, pushing Antonelli to cut the chicane sharply, jump onto the grass, and thus lose P2 to Norris’s McLaren.
Furious team radio
At this point, Antonelli’s fury moved to the radio. The Italian, very angry about Russell’s hard defense, even called for a penalty for his teammate: “That move was dirty – thundered the Bolognese – he should be penalized. I was right alongside his mirror! I don’t care, he pushed me off and he must take a penalty“, he finally added when Peter Bonnington, his race engineer, asked him to focus on Norris ahead of him.
Read more Wolff warns Antonelli: “We don’t want accidents, this is not Star Wars”
At this point, Toto Wolff had to intervene directly to try to calm Antonelli down by inviting him to “focus on driving and not complain over the radio“. But the situation remained particularly tense even after the checkered flag. At the end of the Sprint, in fact, Antonelli again poked the team: “If we have to race like this, it’s good to know“, said the Bolognese. “This is not the first time we talk about this. We discuss it internally, not on the radio, okay?“, the team principal froze him.
Read more Sprint: between strategy and rotations Mercedes risked an own goal
