The head of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Toto Wolff, downplayed the crash and the tension that arose between his drivers, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, after the incident during the sprint race of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The maneuver between both drivers provoked the anger of Antonelli, current world championship leader, who accused Russell of having carried out an “unfair” action and considered that he should be sanctioned. However, Wolff assured that the situation was clarified after several internal conversations before the main race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The Austrian manager compared the current moment with the historical internal rivalries that Mercedes experienced between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, although he made it clear that the team fully trusts in the maturity of its drivers.
“It was a good fight, as sport should be when there is a battle within the team,” explained Wolff, who also assured that both riders are free to compete aggressively as long as they avoid contact on the track.
The tension adds a special ingredient to the Canadian Grand Prix, where Russell will start from pole position for the third consecutive time in Montreal. The Briton seeks to reduce the 18 points difference that Antonelli maintains in the general classification.
For his part, the young Italian talent, just 19 years old, will try to achieve his fourth consecutive victory to further extend his lead in the championship and establish himself as the great revelation of the 2026 season in Formula 1.
Despite the crash on Saturday, both drivers tried to publicly reduce the controversy at the end of the day, although the internal rivalry at Mercedes promises to continue being one of the great focuses of attention of the championship.
