Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lays down ground rules after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli sprint spat

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said neither George Russell nor Kimi Antonelli are expected to leave space for each other as their Formula 1 title battle intensifies.

The championship-chasing Mercedes pair suffered their first major on-track disagreement in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint race, as Russell got his elbows out in a stout defence of his lead.

The move, at Turn 1 on lap five, sent Antonelli into an angry series of rants on the team radio, describing the move as “naughty”, before calling for a penalty. With the frustration continuing to spill over, Wolff was forced to intervene to stem the tide.

Having spoken with both drivers in the debrief, however, the rules have now been set, with no quarter needed to be given, and none asked for.

“That was good, like sports should be – an inter-team battle or outside, and for us, it’s good learning,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

“We obviously went through these motions with Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis [Hamilton]. Sprint races, there’s always a possibility to recalibrate or recondition, and it was very easy, because we sat them down and said ‘How do we want to race?

“’Are we racing the other car like any third car, which I’m fine with, and obviously, you don’t leave any space there. Or do you want to leave the space? Which I would not expect, because fundamentally you are racing for winning and winning the championship. Or are we playing this super-smooth sailing, and you only overtake each other on the straight under braking?’

“We agreed that we trust them, they know how to push. But in any case, no one is expecting the other one to leave space, because it’s too important.”

Having vowed never to suffer a repeat of the Hamilton-Rosberg relationship which came to a head in 2016, Wolff put all his experience from that period to use when speaking to his current charges.

“I said with the two of them that it’s valid for George, and it was equally valid for Lewis back in the day. When Lewis went on a rant, I simply stopped it. I remember in Austria saying ‘Just drive the car. Stop complaining’,” he explained.

“And particularly here. Say it once, vent it. We’re the bin for your emotion, so that’s ok. Don’t be rude, don’t insult, but don’t keep going on, because then you’re wasting my time, because then all the interviews that I need to do are about the star wars here or whether the rivalry is getting out of control.”

“I’m 100% sure that I’m going to look like a fool a few times this year, but it’s ok.”

Antonelli claims “it’s all good now” after Russell reconciliation

Wolff is all too aware that what happens in a debrief is not always what transpires on the track, as he conceded an expectation that he is “100% sure that I’m going to look like a fool a few times this year”.

But the drivers are at least singing from the same hymn sheet.

“We had a discussion and now it’s clarified and all good,” Antonelli said in the post-qualifying press conference. 

“We’ve reviewed. We had a chat with Toto and it’s all good now.”

Agreeing with his team-mate, Russell added: “As Kimi said, it’s all good.

“We had a good discussion and we know what we need to do and how we’re going to race each other.

“Nothing is going to change because we’ve always had that respect for one another. We’re not going to wave anybody by, doesn’t matter if it’s a competitor or a team-mate.

“Of course, we know the number one rule is never to crash with your team-mate, that isn’t what happened this morning and we finished first and third. That’s what we will continue to try and do.”