George Russell has addressed his battle with Kimi Antonelli during the early stages of the sprint at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The six-time grand prix winner said he was “glad” he and his team-mate survived their skirmish, with him taking victory to Antonelli’s third.
The Mercedes pair started the 24-lap race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve alongside each other on the front row, with the Briton holding onto the lead from pole.
However, a few laps in, Antonelli launched an audacious move around the outside of the sister W17 into Turn 1.
Russell appeared to push him wide, and the Italian was furious with what he perceived to be forced onto the grass.
The 19-year-old immediately took to team radio, calling for his team-mate to be punished for the “naughty” move.
Later on the same lap, an error saw Antonelli cut across the grass again, this time losing his second place to Lando Norris, but his complaints would not end there, with team principal Toto Wolff having to tell his driver to focus on the race.
When asked for his take on the incident, Russell chose not to address it head-on, instead sharing his relief that they ultimately avoided coming to blows.
“Yeah, it was a cool race,” the 28-year-old said after the sprint in Montreal. “I was just talking with Lando, it’s definitely very difficult to get a gap around here, and it felt quite easy to follow; the slipstream was quite, quite powerful with the overtake mode.
“And then, yeah, it was a good battle with Kimi, and, you know, glad we both are standing here after the race.”
Victory for Russell, with Antonelli finishing third, means the former’s deficit to the latter in the F1 drivers’ standings has been reduced to 18 points.
