Antonelli: “Today I was calmer, I encouraged Russell to make mistakes. I was faster than him”

Antonelli super in Canada Youth and ambition reign in Kimi Antonelli’s eyes. In his head, however, there is the awareness of being not only capable of winning races, but also of thinking about the title. It can only be like this with a +43 over George Russell, the result of four consecutive triumphs and a bit of luck, which also had a hand in Montreal. However, those who link Antonelli’s victory in Montreal to Russell’s retirement alone are wrong. The Bolognese was in fact superior to his teammate in terms of pace, he held his own for almost thirty laps, remaining constantly glued to his exhaust and preventing him from managing the race with serenity. And, without a dubious call from the Mercedes wall (who on lap 22 asked him to give the position back to Russell when in reality it was the Briton who closed the space), perhaps he could have taken off even before the #63 retired. Antonelli’s words “It wasn’t the way I wanted to win, honestly: it was a shame for George, in the end it would have been a very tough battle. Even if in the end in that stint I had a little more pace. I made a few too many mistakes, like locking up in turn 10, and it wasn’t ideal”, this is his comment to Sky Sport F1. “I, however, was attacked, then he had the technical problem and I found myself alone, from that moment on I tried to take the car home.” “It’s certainly a track where he has always been strong, so being close to George, and even being faster in some moments, is definitely a good sign. I don’t think I rode at the level of Miami, this is a point I should work on, but in the end it went well, also because today I was much calmer than yesterday”, he added. “There were a couple of episodes that were still a bit on the edge, but today I was much calmer, I preferred to wait much longer, to induce him more to make mistakes. I also made a few too many mistakes, and it shouldn’t happen again.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-25 15:00:00