‘Darth Vader’ Wolff Arrives
Kimi Antonelli set off fireworks in Montreal, giving neutral fans a beautiful duel with his teammate George Russell. However, the one who did not appreciate the Italian’s aggressiveness too much was the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who already during the race and after the checkered flag made his voice heard via radio with the 19-year-old Bolognese driver, inviting him to calm down. After the race, interviewed by Sky Sport, Wolff showed all his political skill to make it clear that excessive aggression in battles between teammates will not be tolerated.
Read more Antonelli: “Russell widened and touched me. I made a mistake in turn 8”
“I appreciated the moment – explained Wolff – because it allowed us to see how to manage similar situations in the future. We don’t want to lose a race, we don’t want to have an accident between our two drivers. Sometimes we all need to remember what our goals are. It’s not a matter of being against one or the other – added the Austrian manager – but there are internal rules and I prefer that all this happened during the Sprint, when there aren’t many points at stake. The radio message to Kimi? We simply don’t want to start a Star Wars-type war, which could then degenerate over time. It’s a matter of emotions: Kimi is a young driver and George (in his place) would probably have done the same thing. I just had to manage“.
