In the short match in Montreal, the first real melee between the Englishman and the Italian who didn’t like George’s defence. Norris second, the Ferraris in fifth and sixth place with Leclerc and Hamilton
They were predictable sparks, they inevitably ignited. Let’s talk about those that flew between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli during the Sprint of the Canadian GP, won by the Englishman after a hand-to-hand duel with the young Italian, who this time had a bitter taste. The fire broke out on the sixth lap of a short but very intense race. Russell, who started from pole, was in the lead, chased by the Bolognese, eager to hurt him again after the three poles and three consecutive victories that lifted him to the top of the World Championship. Antonelli led the attack to the outside of Turn 1, a difficult point because at the close of the left turn, Antonelli, who thought he was nose-first in front of the Englishman, found himself in the area where Russell, letting go of the brake, had an easy time accompanying him towards the outside. To avoid the accident, Antonelli could do nothing but cut the grass. It’s clear that Kimi didn’t like it, but from a competitive point of view, Russell’s play seemed like a racing maneuver. Not even investigated by the race management.
kimi on
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It was the sixth lap, Kimi certainly got a little fired up and shortly after he ended up in the grass again in another braking section, this time a mistake of his own at turn 8, probably damaging the surface a little and losing position to Lando Norris who finished the race ahead of him in second place. Kimi tried to react and at the end he attacked Norris again, again on the outside of turn 1. And in this case too it went badly, ending up in the grass and giving the position back to Lando. Toto Wolff via radio first calmed down the Bolognese, who accused Russell of being unfair (“Think about driving and not about complaints”). Then he told him that the discussion would continue, but not publicly. Luckily for Mercedes, everything happened in a Sprint race and without any particular loss of points. But the evening’s qualifying will already be very important because it will define the positions on the grid for tomorrow’s race, which at this point is announced as hot.
superior mercedes
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The fact is that this Sprint has reiterated that the two Silver Arrows are very fast and have a great pace, even if McLaren remains an opponent not to be underestimated over distance. But if the hierarchies and values remain the same, the fight for the title between Russell and Antonelli could become increasingly heated and will obviously have to be managed. Fourth place for the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri ahead of the first Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Englishman lost two positions at the end, after touching the champions’ wall at the end, probably damaging his SF-26. Seventh place for Max Verstappen with Red Bull ahead of Arvid Lindblad.
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