F1 show: Kimi Antonelli-George Russell battle Mercedes management assessed after Montreal drama | F1 News

After a dramatic series of battles between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix, David Croft and Jamie Chadwick discuss The F1 show Podcast on how Mercedes should push their drivers forward.

Russell and Antonelli first made contact during Saturday’s sprint in Montreal, with the latter voicing his disapproval of his teammate’s tactics on team radio during the race.

While Antonelli was much calmer and more measured when speaking after Russell’s winning sprint, the battle between the pair resumed after they started on the front row for Sunday’s full-length race.

The pair exchanged the lead several times in a thrilling first half of the race and were still doing so when the race was cut short by a power-unit failure for Russell, easing Antonelli to victory and extending his drivers’ championship lead to 43 points.

There is likely to be more wheel-to-wheel action involving both Mercedes before the end of the season, with a devastated Russell leaving with a major challenge to take his team-mate.

Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff said after the race that the team would review the weekend with the drivers before deciding on a way forward, but hinted that there were moments in Montreal that he was not comfortable with.

A reflection of the weekend’s actions, Sky Sports F1 Commentator David Croft urged Wolff to trust his drivers, at least for now.

“Mercedes already have a pretty good lead in the constructors’ championship,” Croft said “It will only grow I think. Monaco may not have their own way, but they are still the class of the field.

“They don’t need intervention yet. Last year there was no need to intervene with McLaren.

“You’re paying these drivers handsomely. You should trust them. Every employer should trust their employees to do their job because you put your faith in them by giving them that job.

“So, stay away for now. Don’t interfere. Don’t change it. Just remind them what the rules of engagement are and give us fans a real treat.

“I’m not here to admonish Toto Wolff, but if I was, I’d be ‘Shaw’ for now. And then when they take themselves out, if they take themselves out, that’s when you can intervene as a team.

“But I don’t think what we saw at the weekend will spill over into a Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg type of rivalry. I think there’s a very healthy respect. But we’ll see what skullduggery and strategy plays out in the future.”

Chadwick: Laps away from ending in tears

Sunday’s battle between the Mercedes drivers saw several exciting moments, with Antonelli once again complaining that Russell was over-aggressive with his defensive tactics.

Shortly before Russell’s engine failed, both drivers were warned over the radio to keep the battle “tidy”, or team orders might be imposed.

Sky Sports F1 Pundit and three-time W Series champion Chadwick said: “They were a few laps away from finishing in tears, so I don’t know if George’s engine failure came at a good time for Mercedes in terms of inter-party politics!

“In terms of the battle we saw on the track on Sunday, I think we were almost expecting what we saw in the sprint. It seems with the new rules, the way they can follow closely and not really get away from each other, means they are constantly fighting each other.

“I haven’t seen a race lead like that in a long time.”

Russell backed up his status as the clear pre-season title favorite by winning the first race of the year in Australia, but Antonelli made it four wins in a row to put his team-mate under huge pressure.

Chadwick added: “I think Kimmy’s hot head gave her tenths of a second, especially when she was behind George and chasing him.

“You could see he had a bit in his teeth. He had that extra hunger, that extra motivation to try to get even with his teammates.

“And I think that tenth of a second, or that hunger comes from the fact that he’s come off three race wins and his confidence has just grown.

“He keeps saying he’s not thinking about the championship, but he has a big advantage now. He’s thinking about it, ‘I don’t care if I’ve got an experienced teammate, I have every right to be ahead of you today’. And that’s how he’s driving.”

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