Montreal: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli called for race stewards to penalise his teammate, George Russell, during Saturday’s sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix, asserting that the British driver forced him off the circuit.
The two teammates collided at the opening turn just a few laps into the 23-lap event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The incident occurred after Antonelli ran across the grass, having briefly seized the lead of the race with an aggressive overtaking manoeuvre.
Moments afterwards, the television broadcast showed the 19-year-old running off the track for a second time, preceding a radio transmission in which he expressed his frustration regarding the initial confrontation at Turn 1.
Front-Row Friction
Antonelli contended that Russell failed to afford him sufficient racing room at the exit of the corner, effectively forcing his car onto the grass. The second off-track excursion caused the Italian rookie to slide into third place behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, disrupting a competitive position after the Mercedes drivers had locked out the front row of the starting grid during qualifying.
“That was very naughty!” Antonelli exclaimed over the team radio, later adding, “That should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror!”
Antonelli continued to voice his grievances to his race engineer, Pete Bonnington, until Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff intervened directly on the broadcast channel to de-escalate the situation.
“Kimi, concentrate on the driving, please, not on the radio moaning,” Wolff said.