Martin Brundle believes Kimi Antonelli is fortunate to have the calming influence of Toto Wolff and race engineer Peter Bonnington after the 19-year-old lost his composure during a fiery intra-team battle with George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes pair dominated both the sprint and the grand prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it was the sprint that produced the most contentious moments.
Russell led from pole with Antonelli glued to his rear wing, the championship leader visibly quicker but unable to find a way past cleanly.
On lap six, Antonelli launched around the outside of Turn 1. Light contact was made, and Russell ran his younger team-mate off the track.
Antonelli rejoined but was clearly rattled, calling the move "very naughty" over the radio and insisting he had been alongside.
A second off-track excursion on the same lap allowed Lando Norris to nip through into second, and Antonelli ultimately finished third, 1.8 seconds behind Russell.
'Any of us would have done the same'
Writing in his post-grand prix column for Sky Sports F1, Brundle was sympathetic to Russell's approach. "George was marginally more under control and could command track position, but Kimi looked a little faster, something we would see again on race day," he wrote.
"The inevitable happened into Turn 1 when Antonelli attempted to pass around the outside. He was very close to earning the right to racing room from his more senior team-mate, but in the end, any driver fighting for a victory, let alone a championship, was going to run him out of track. Any of us would have done, or expected, the same."
Brundle was less forgiving of Antonelli's reaction, noting that "Kimi lost his head a bit for the duration of the sprint, such that the headmaster Toto Wolff even intervened on the radio."
The Austrian told his young driver to concentrate on the driving and save the discussion for the debrief, rather than airing his grievances over team radio.
Brundle highlighted the support network Antonelli has at Mercedes, adding: "Kimi is lucky to have the wisdom of Bono and Toto at these moments; the rest of us would have just gone straight to the scene of the contact or accident, and recriminations post-race."
Sunday's grand prix offered a measure of redemption. Antonelli got the better start from the front row and swapped the lead with Russell through the opening phase, the pair pulling more than five seconds clear of the field.
Russell's race ended around lap 30 with a battery failure while leading, handing Antonelli a comfortable run to victory by over 10 seconds from Lewis Hamilton.
It was Antonelli's fourth consecutive grand prix win and extended his championship lead to 43 points over Russell.
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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