(Motorsport-Total.com) – According to Kimi Antonelli, you can’t rein in drivers in a championship fight; instead, you have to trust them on the track and let them battle it out.
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“We will continue to duel, just like in Canada,” explains the championship leader ahead of the Monaco weekend. “Of course, we will do it a bit smarter, but the team certainly wants us to be able to race completely freely against each other.”
“That’s how it has to be,” the 19-year-old continues. “You can’t put a driver on a leash when he’s fighting for wins and championships. You can’t tell him: ‘Oh, you, hold back a bit.'”
“Of course, something like that can happen, but the team wants us to race,” Antonelli emphasizes in conclusion. After the race in Canada, Toto Wolff had noted that they don’t necessarily want to repeat scenarios like at the Montreal Grand Prix.
After all, Antonelli and Russell narrowly avoided major collisions several times in both the sprint and the main race. Nevertheless, the championship leader states that no team orders are planned.
Instead, both Mercedes drivers emphasize that they want to treat each other as fairly as possible in the championship fight. “We had a few conversations after the race weekend,” Antonelli says.
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“We had one of them just a few days before our arrival [in Monaco]. We analyzed all aspects of the race, and the result was ultimately: ‘You can drive freely, as long as you respect each other and don’t put yourselves in situations that could harm one or both of you.'”
“You know, the team never wants to dictate any rules,” explains the four-time Grand Prix winner. “Of course, they want both cars to finish and for the team to take home as many points as possible.”
“We are aware of that, because although we drive for ourselves, ultimately we want to be the best and win, we also drive for the team. We want to reward the approximately 2,000 employees in Brackley and Brixworth, and we want the team to win.”
In the World Championship, both Mercedes drivers are in the top two positions. If experts like Dr. Helmut Marko are to be believed, a Silver Arrow will inevitably claim the title at the end of the season.
However, this certainty is unlikely to cause fewer headaches for Toto Wolff. After all, Mercedes experienced the Hamilton vs. Rosberg duel, in which the collaboration between the two teammates was a major challenge for around three years.
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