(Motorsport-Total.com) – Mercedes provided more details about the talks with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli a few days after the Formula 1 race in Montreal, following the intense duels between the two at the Canadian Grand Prix that triggered internal analyses.
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In Montreal, Russell and Antonelli engaged in their first wheel-to-wheel duel while Mercedes solidified its dominance at the top of the 2026 field. Currently, it looks like the world championship title will be decided between the two Mercedes drivers.
Their duels in the sprint led to frustration for Antonelli over Russell’s hard defense. In the Grand Prix on Sunday, both alternated at the front until Russell retired around mid-race. There were some scenes the team rated as “too close.”
“Most of it is absolutely fine,” says Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin in the Mercedes podcast Nu Silver Arrows, “and you always want to let the drivers race.”
“If the team does a good job and the right conversations have been held beforehand, you don’t have to intervene. But there were a few moments when it got too tight. Once it looked like one could hit the other’s rear. We definitely want to avoid that.”
“Constructive and friendly conversation” on Saturday
“But both want to be allowed to race each other. They know they have to do their part: race fairly without risking a retirement. No contact. We had good talks during the weekend and will have more before the next race,” says Shovlin.
Antonelli’s anger in the sprint over Russell’s uncompromising defense, where he even called for a penalty for his teammate and believed the internal rules had been misunderstood, led to talks with team principal Toto Wolff on Saturday evening. Both drivers asked to continue being allowed to race each other freely.
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“After the sprint, there was a meeting with Toto where the two drivers talked about how the race went and how they want to race each other in the future,” reveals deputy team principal Bradley Lord. “I think Kimi compared it a bit to being called into the principal’s office.”
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“It was actually a very constructive and friendly conversation, but the message from the drivers was crystal clear: ‘Trust us to race each other. You committed us to that, and we can do it.'”
Lessons from the Hamilton-Rosberg era
With the experience from the tense rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg a decade ago, Mercedes is aware of managing possible tensions early. The team wants the drivers to openly discuss concerns instead of building up frustration.
“It feels a bit like the continuation of a movie,” says Lord about the first real internal team title fight since the Hamilton-Rosberg era. “We learned a lot back then about what we could have done better and are trying to apply that now.”
“Some of our rivals say this is a luxury problem, and that is true in a way. But we have to manage it properly, set clear rules for the duel: what we expect from the drivers and where the limit is. They must not touch, and we must not lose points because of their racing.”
“If something happens, we have to keep communicating, talk about it, and leave nothing unresolved. We have to put everything openly on the table, evaluate together, even if we don’t always agree, and then look forward.”
Antonelli’s fourth consecutive Grand Prix win gave the 19-year-old Italian a 43-point lead over Russell in the world championship. At the same time, Mercedes continues to investigate the serious failure of Russell’s power unit that caused his retirement on lap 30.
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