MONTREAL -- Kimi Antonelli has called for clarity over Mercedes’ racing rules after ending up on the grass while trying to overtake teammate George Russell for the lead of Saturday’s sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix.
On the sixth lap of the sprint, Antonelli attempted to pass Russell around the outside of Turn 1 before light contact forced him to take to the grass on the inside of Turn 2.
Antonelli then attempted another pass at Turn 8 but locked up and ran across the grass, dropping to third place behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The 19-year-old claimed Russell pushed him off the circuit in the first incident, saying over team radio: “That should be a penalty, I was alongside the car!”
After the chequered flag, he added: “If we need to race like this, it’s good to know.”
This led team principal Toto Wolff to reply: “Kimi, now is the first time [we need] to talk about this. We talk about this internally, not on the radio.”
Speaking in a press conference after the race, Antonelli said he would seek clarity over the racing rules at Mercedes as he felt the incident was not in line with pre-race discussions within the team.
“Obviously we do meetings before races, and that’s what we say in the room: that of course we race to win and try and do our best to try and defend our positions,” Antonelli said. “Of course, probably I understood the significance of that meeting a bit differently, but yeah, obviously I need to recheck.
“I was very ... Emotions were very high in the moment, I obviously was very annoyed. But I just need to recheck and for sure we’re going to talk about it and we’re going to clarify on that.”
Antonelli added: “For sure, I think probably we just need a bit of clarity. Then once it’s clear then it’s all going to be fine.
“I think definitely I need to probably ask again, but the main thing for the team is that there’s no contact, that we don’t crash into each other, which today at the end was very close, but I think that’s the most important for the team.
“Also as a driver you don’t want to crash on into your own teammate. We all want the best for, first of all, each other, but also for the team, so for sure we will clarify and everything is going to be fine.”
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Russell claimed he did nothing wrong in his defence of the lead -- a position he felt was vindicated by the fact the race stewards opted against an investigation into the incident.
“As kids in karting we know overtaking on the outside there’s a certain element of risk that comes with that,” Russell said. “They are amazing overtakes when they come off but the chances are quite slim so you know there’s only one direction I was going and I was going to close the line because I still had the right to do so.
“So as I said, respect to him for giving it a go. Emotions are always high for all of us in the cockpit but I’m sure we’ll both talk about it after.
“From my side I didn’t think I did anything wrong and it wasn’t investigated so I guess the race directors and stewards thought the same, but I need I need to check it. And it is clear that between teammates we race hard and fair and no contact and that’s always the objective.
“I wasn’t racing Kimi any harder than I would have raced Lando in the same same position. We’re both here fighting to win and you always in the past, even last year when we battled I always gave Kimi a bit more room compared to anyone else. So as I said I need to review it, and there was nothing untoward with the driving. And as I said, it wasn’t even investigated, so I think that says enough.”
Wolff vows internal discussion
Wolff said the team would discuss the incident internally and consult the drivers on how they want to go racing for the title.
“So first of all, I enjoyed also to watch it,” he told F1 TV. “You know, we want to see racing and overtaking. And for me, these moments are super good because there is so much we can learn from this and we can take the drivers aside and say, how do you see that? How do we want to handle it in the future?
“Are we racing each other like it’s a third car? Another team? Is that fair? If so, fine, that is the rule now. Or are we racing each other differently? Would you give your teammate the space if it was another car if you’re fighting the championship or not? And I think it’s up to them also to come up with the rules going forward.
“And, you know, drivers have emotions. Obviously, you’re so upset about being pushed off or not having left the space. But, you know, all of the media wants to come up now with ‘Star Wars’ and that’s going to be the headlines everywhere.”
