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Kimi Antonelli says he and Mercedes teammate George Russell are free to race despite their collision during Saturday’s sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Championship leader Antonelli left the track as he and Russell battled for first place in the sprint, allowing McLaren’s Lando Norris to grab second from the Italian.
The Mercedes drivers will also start from the front row of the grid at Sunday’s Grand Prix in Montreal after Russell wrested pole position from Antonelli late in qualifying.
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Kimi Antonelli says he and George Russell will ‘race smart’ in future after their sprint clash in Canada
Speaking afterwards, Antonelli – who is 18 points clear of Russell in the drivers’ standings – said: “We are still free to race – but race in a smarter way.
“I go to the track, give it my all and race to win. When I have a chance, I go for it.
“Today maybe both of us were a bit over the limit but the most important thing is that we are clearly moving forward.
“We reviewed, chatted with (Mercedes team principal) Toto (Wolf) and now everything is fine.”
Russell: We had a good discussion
Russell added on clearing the air with Antonelli: “It was clear we needed to have a chat. We had a good discussion.
“After that it wasn’t a real big deal. Of course, there’s always emotion in the cockpit, nothing is personal when it’s on the track, and for us it’s history now, and we just wait.
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Canadian Grand Prix pole-sitter George Russell awaits a race that could be affected by rain
“We know what we have to do and how we’re going to compete with each other. Nothing will change because we’ve always had respect for each other.
“We’re not going to sway anyone – it doesn’t matter if it’s a competitor or a teammate. We know the number 1 rule is never crash with your teammate, and that didn’t happen in the sprint.
“After that it wasn’t a real big deal. Of course, there’s always emotion in the cockpit but nothing is personal when it’s on the track. For us it’s history now, and we’re just waiting.”
What happened to Sprint?
At the start of lap six, Antonelli attacked Russell from the outside of Turn 1 but the pair made light contact in Turn 2 exiting the corner.
Antonelli went across the grass in Turn 2 as Russell dropped down to hold onto the lead. Later in the turn 8-9 chicken lap, Antonelli went deep as he attempted to overtake Russell and cut the grass again, this time losing out to Lando Norris to drop to third.
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Kimi Antonelli and George Russell collided twice in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint.
On the Turn 1 incident, Antonelli said on the radio: “It was very naughty! It should be a penalty. I was next to the mirror!”
Antonelli’s engineer Peter Bonnington tried to calm a furious Antonelli but the Italian added: “I don’t care, he’s knocked me out!”
In response, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “Kimi, concentrate on driving, please, not crying on the radio.”
Russell went on to take the sprint win and was unable to overtake Antonelli Norris, although briefly re-entering Turn 1 on the final lap.
Antonelli continued to vent his frustration on the radio during the cooldown lap saying, “If we have to run like this, it’s good to know!”
Wolff replied: “Kimmy now is not the time to talk about it. We talk about it internally not on the radio, okay?”
Russell and Antonelli shook hands briefly after the sprint but there was palpable tension in the Park Farm post-race.
What did the drivers say immediately?
George Russell:
“It was a good hard battle.
“Thanks to Kimi for letting it go. I respect that, and obviously, came out unscathed. I’m glad we’re both sitting here now. It could have been something different, but it wasn’t and that’s how racing should be.
“From my side, as kids in karting, we know that overtaking on the outside, there’s a certain element of risk with it, and when they come down they make amazing overtakes, but the chances are very low.
“There’s only one direction I was going, and I’m going to toe the line because it’s within my rights to do so. Respect him for letting it go.”
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George Russell wins a thrilling sprint race as final-lap drama sees Antonelli run away again and face Toto on the team radio
Some Antonelli:
“I was pretty good as well, and definitely had contact, so I’ll have to retest it.
“I think if you’re good, you can overtake anywhere. Obviously, there are some corners that are more difficult. I don’t think there’s ever been an overtake run outside of Turn 1.
“I agree he was defending his position, so it was just a tough race. Of course, we were both lucky not to crash, but, at the end of the day, it was a very fun race.”
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George Russell and Kimi Antonelli weigh in on their Mercedes bust-up during the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix!
Wolf: It was a great movie!
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff speaks to Sky Sports F1:
“It was a great movie! The tough fight, not just between the two of us, but with Lando (Norris) as well. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I enjoy these moments because they let us learn and say, ‘How do we handle these things in the future?’
“You don’t want to lose a race, you don’t want to crash into each other and sometimes we need a little moment to remind ourselves of our intentions.
“It’s not particularly against one or the other but there is a structure that we want to establish and I’d rather have it in a sprint race, where it’s not about so many points than the main race.
“We don’t want to start Race Five with titles like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘It’s Growing’ because it’s not. It’s passion and (Kimi) is a young driver. That’s probably what George would have done.”
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On Skypad, Karun Chandhok analyzes the wheel-to-wheel battle between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, which ended with Antonelli pulling off the track during the Canada Sprint
What did the Sky Sports F1 pundit make of the incident?
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brandl:
“You see George Russell’s car hit the inside curb and bounce to the right. The problem with writing rules is that it’s hard to cover everything on different tracks.
“Something added this year is that the inside driver can’t disappear or suddenly change 30 or 40 degrees. I think if you stick your car on the outside like that, you have to expect to get squeezed. That’s the racing view.”
Sky Sports F1’s Jamie Chadwick:
“It was inevitable it was going to happen at some point. It was spicy.
“At this point, Kimi got a run into Turn 1 and was bringing a lot of speed to the outside line.
“To be fair to George, I think it caught him out a bit. If it hadn’t been a teammate, I don’t think we’d have said much about it.”
Sky Sports F1’s Canadian GP schedule
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A look at the wildest moments caught on onboard cameras at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Sunday 24th May
3.40pm: F1 Academy Race 3
5pm: F2 Feature Race
7.30pm: Canadian GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
9pm: Canadian Grand Prix*
11am: Canadian GP reaction: Checkered flag*
12am: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports main events
Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1, Sunday’s race at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime
