Kimi Antonelli-George Russell, sparks also in the post-Sprint. And fans take a stand
It was a Sprint Race full of insights that was staged in Canada, on the circuit dedicated to Gilles Villeneuve. Taking the headlines were the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, not only for their final positions (the Briton finished first, the Bolognese driver came third), but also for the sparks on the track of which the young Italian himself complained at length to his track engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, even going so far as to take a reprimand from the German team’s big boss, Toto Wolff.
Antonelli, who had attempted an overtaking move on lap six against Russell while both were battling for first position, found his way closed and was forced off the track. It was an episode that had unnerved him for the rest of the Sprint, so much so that he made another couple of mistakes and thus allowed Lando Norris to take advantage of them, to place his McLaren in second position.
“It was a tough battle,” Antonelli commented in the canonical post-race interviews at the World F1 organization’s microphones. With George we had practically the same pace: I tried to pass him, we were side by side, but he pushed me out. Then I made a mistake at turn eight, and there I definitely compromised my race.”
Highly commented Russell: “With Kimi it was a good challenge, it is very important to have finished both on the podium, also because he often saw the grass,” said the winner of today’s short race. Pleased, for his part, Lando Norris: “Today I could only have taken advantage of a few opportunities, I managed to insert myself in the fight between Russell and Antonelli, it went well.”
Off the track, meanwhile, the discussion was also heated among the fans. On one side are those who accuse Russell of completely ignoring the Mercedes team spirit, reading his aggressive defense as an inappropriate gesture toward his younger teammate. On the other hand, however, there is no shortage of those who point the finger at Antonelli, believing him to be too impetuous in the hot stages of the Sprint and perhaps weighed down by the pressure of the championship lead.
Two opposing views that reflect well the tense atmosphere around the silver pair: team principal Toto Wolff will also have to manage this aspect over the long Canadian weekend, which continues with qualifying for the Grand Prix and the Sunday race itself, in which Mercedes once again starts as the favorite.
