Mercedes against
It certainly was not a quiet Sprint in Canada for Mercedes, despite the good start that had left George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of everyone. Between the two, there was indeed an exciting duel, with the Italian bravely trying to attack his teammate twice. The maneuvers not only failed, but there was a high risk of collision and due to the attacks, Antonelli was overtaken by Norris, who then challenged Russell until the checkered flag. In short, a great show for the outside spectators, but inside Mercedes an own goal was risked. Something certainly not appreciated by Toto Wolff.
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Wolff called Antonelli and Russell in for a talk
And it was precisely Toto Wolff who over the radio told Antonelli to stop complaining and that certain things had to be discussed internally within the team. So, the discussion between Andrea Kimi, Russell, and Wolff took place and it was the Austrian manager himself who recounted how it went to the microphones of Sky Sports UK.
“The debrief went well, that’s how sport should be, either an internal battle within the team or external to the team. For us, it was a good lesson. Obviously, we have already experienced these emotions in the past with Nico and Lewis. We sat them down and said: ‘How do we want to race? Do we race against the other car as if it were from another team? – which for me would be fine – and don’t leave space? Or do you prefer to leave space – which I wouldn’t expect, because basically you race to win races and championships? Or do you prefer a quiet race where you only overtake on straights or braking zones?“, Toto Wolff asked his drivers.
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Interestingly, among the parties, a particular rule seems to have been agreed upon: to think about the teammate’s moves as if they were Max Verstappen.
Here are Wolff’s words: “We agreed to trust them. They know how to push, but in any case, neither of them should expect the other to leave space. It’s good to know the rules. They have to ask themselves: Would Max have left space there? No. Would Max have opened the door or left enough space to be overtaken in Turn 1? No, he wouldn’t have. So how do we manage the situation? I think it’s important that they decide how they want to race against each other. These are now the rules and we are fine with that.”
In short, Antonelli and Russell will duel thinking about the possible maneuvers Verstappen would make against them…
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