George Russell took victory this Saturday in the sprint race of the Canadian Grand Prix after starring in an intense and controversial duel with his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
The British driver aggressively defended the first position during much of the test held at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit in Montreal, resisting the attacks of the young Italian, leader of the Formula 1 world championship.
The tension between both drivers allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to take advantage of Mercedes’ internal confrontation to finish in second position, while Antonelli closed the podium in third place.
The hottest moment of the race came on lap six, when Antonelli tried to pass Russell on the outside on two consecutive occasions. Both cars touched each other and ended up passing through the grass before rejoining the track.
Very upset by the maneuver, Antonelli demanded a sanction against his teammate on the radio.
“If this is how we are going to drive, it is good to know,” the Italian protested during the race, before team boss Toto Wolff intervened to ask for calm and avoid further public tension between his drivers.
After getting out of the car, Antonelli maintained his position although with a more moderate tone.
“I tried to overtake, I have to review the play because I was parallel and they pushed me out. Then I made a mistake and they took me off the track, but it was a good battle,” declared the 19-year-old.
Russell, for his part, avoided entering into the controversy and highlighted the team’s performance.
“It was a good battle. I’m glad we’re both here after the race,” commented the Briton, who is looking to reduce the 20-point difference he has over Antonelli in the general classification.
Norris also valued positively the spectacle offered by the Mercedes.
“It was nice to see them fight for a while and make up ground. Kimi caught up with me very quickly, so it was a good result for us,” said the McLaren driver.
Oscar Piastri finished behind the top three, while Lewis Hamilton took his Ferrari to sixth position, just ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
Colapinto stands out again with Alpine
The Argentine Franco Colapinto once again left a good feeling with Alpine F1 Team by finishing ninth after recovering four positions from the start.
After his outstanding seventh place in Miami, the young driver returned to compete at a high level despite the mechanical problems suffered during free practice.
“It was a good race, we had a very good pace. Finishing ninth while starting thirteenth, on a complicated track, was pretty good,” declared Colapinto.
The Argentine regretted having come so close to scoring points.
“A shame not to have added a point, it was very close,” he added.
For his part, Sergio Pérez initially finished eleventh with Cadillac Formula 1 Team, although a 10-second penalty relegated him to fourteenth place.
The Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr. finished tenth for Williams, while Fernando Alonso abandoned the test with his Aston Martin.
