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George Russell won the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix but only after his championship battle with Kimi Antonelli reached an angry flashpoint. The Mercedes pair clashed for the lead on track and the teenage Italian was left demanding the British driver should be penalised.
Such was the febrile atmosphere that their team principal Toto Wolff intervened, telling Antonelli to “stop the radio moaning”.
The incident cost Mercedes a likely one-two, given the pair had been comfortably leading, with Antonelli finishing third behind the McLaren of Lando Norris. Russell has closed the gap to his championship-leading teammate to 18 points.
Russell and Antonelli were vying for the lead with the Italian attempting to go past when they clashed. Mercedes will now have to address the issue between their drivers, who are in a head-to-head for the world championship.
The pair were in tandem out front as Antonelli harried his teammate and made a move on lap six at turn one, as they brushed against one another as the Italian fought for the lead. Russell was not giving way and Antonelli had to go off. The 19-year-old was swiftly on the radio calling for Russell to be sanctioned. “That should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror,” he demanded.
Antonelli clearly felt he had the place through turn one and that Russell had not given him room. He did have his nose in front into the corner but Russell will feel he merely held his line.
Worse followed for the teenager as he continued to push at Russell and came in far too hot on the British driver at the chicane and he went off on to the grass, costing him a place to Norris, who moved up to second. It was an error he admitted had been his own but indicated he was wound up and going too hard.
Pete Bonnington, his race engineer, called for calm. “I don’t care he pushed me off!” was Antonelli’s angry response.
Wolff was left to contemplate a war between his drivers he had not seen since Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg went at it in 2014. As Antonelli remained fuming on team radio after the race, Wolff insisted they would discuss it in private.
“I tried to make my move, I need to review it, because I was quite well alongside and I got pushed off,” Antonelli said. Russell said simply: “It was a good battle with Kimi.”
They had the race in their hands after both made a good start from the front row and Russell closed out well despite pressure from Norris but the debrief at Mercedes will likely still be a feisty affair.
Still, the win was the strong start to the weekend Russell was looking for. He won the opening race of the season in Australia and the first sprint of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix, but with Antonelliwinning the past three races, the young Italian had taken a strong lead in the world championship. Russell needed to reassert himself and did so in the first real test.
Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, Charles Leclerc and Hamilton in fifth and sixth for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen in seventh for Red Bull and Arvid Lindblad eighth for Racing Bulls.
