George Russell claimed victory in the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix, but the win was overshadowed by a heated on-track confrontation with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. The pair clashed while battling for the lead, leaving the 19-year-old Italian furious and demanding a penalty for the British driver.
The incident occurred on lap six at turn one, when Antonelli attempted to pass Russell. The two cars made contact, forcing Antonelli off the track. The teenager immediately radioed his team, insisting Russell should be sanctioned. “That should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror,” he said. Team principal Toto Wolff later intervened, telling Antonelli to “stop the radio moaning”.
Antonelli’s frustration grew as he continued to push, but he made an error at the chicane, running wide onto the grass and losing a place to McLaren’s Lando Norris, who finished second. Antonelli ended the race in third. Russell’s victory reduced Antonelli’s championship lead to 18 points.
Wolff now faces the challenge of managing tensions between his drivers, reminiscent of the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry in 2014. Antonelli remained angry after the race, saying, “I tried to make my move, I need to review it, because I was quite well alongside and I got pushed off.” Russell offered a more subdued response: “It was a good battle with Kimi.”
Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri finished fourth for McLaren, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth for Ferrari, Max Verstappen took seventh for Red Bull, and Arvid Lindblad was eighth for Racing Bulls.
