The Austrian manager tried to calm the Italian driver, furious over the radio.
A fiery Sprint Race in the opening laps, with the two Mercedes drivers showing no mercy in an intense battle for the lead. In the end, George Russell managed to keep the leadership, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli dropped to third position, behind Lando Norris’s McLaren.
After four laps without any particular sparks, at the start of lap 6 Antonelli attempted a move around the outside at Turn 1 on George Russell, aiming to have the inside line for the next corner. However, the British driver left no room for the Italian, who was therefore forced to cut the corner, driving onto the grass to avoid contact.
Antonelli, however, did not throw in the towel and attempted another attack — this time a more optimistic one — on the inside of Turn 8, taking advantage of a brief moment in which Russell was recharging. Here too, although the overtaking attempt appeared more optimistic than the previous one, the British driver did not leave much room for his teammate, who was once again forced to cut the chicane by driving onto the grass, also losing second position to Lando Norris.
Russell and Antonelli at swords’ points: the “battle” over the radio
At that point, Antonelli vented over the radio to his race engineer Peter Bonnington, highlighting the unfairness of his teammate’s defensive maneuvers. After further complaints, Bono replied by asking the Italian driver not to lose focus and to try attacking Norris to reclaim second position.
Antonelli, however, continued to complain over the radio, stating: “I don’t care, he pushed me off and he has to receive a penalty!”
At that point, the response came — again over the radio — from Team Principal Toto Wolff, and it was very harsh:
“Kimi concentrate on the driving please and not on the radio moaning“, probably postponing any kind of discussion until after the race.
PHOTO: Mercedes AMG-Petronas.
