The latest from Wolff: here is the “Max rule” to manage the duel between Russell and Antonelli

Mercedes against It certainly wasn’t a quiet Canadian Sprint at Mercedes, despite the good start that left George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of everyone. In fact, there was an exciting duel between the two, with the Italian courageously trying to attack his teammate twice. The maneuvers were not only unsuccessful, but there was a high risk of collision and due to the attacks, Antonelli was passed by Norris, who then threatened Russell until the checkered flag. In short, a good show for the external spectators, but at Mercedes there was a risk of an own goal. Which Toto Wolff certainly didn’t like. Wolff called Antonelli and Russell to report. And Toto Wolff himself had stressed over the radio to Antonelli to stop complaining and that certain things needed to be discussed internally within the team. Here, the discussion between Andrea Kimi and Russell and Wolff took place and it was the Austrian manager himself who told how it went to the microphones of Sky Sports UK. “The debriefing went well, this is how sport should be or a battle within the team or outside the team. For us it was a good lesson. Obviously we have already experienced these emotions in the past with Nico and Lewis. We sat them down and said: ‘How do we want to race? Do we race against the other car as if it were from another team? – which for me would also be fine – and don’t leave space? Or do you prefer to leave space – which I wouldn’t expect, because basically you race to win races and championships? Or do you prefer a quiet race where you only overtake each other on the straight or when braking?”, Toto Wolff asked his drivers. Curiously, a particular rule seems to have been agreed between the parties: think of the teammate’s moves as if he were Max Verstappen.
These are Wolff’s words: “We agreed to trust them. They know how to push, but in any case neither of us should expect the other to leave space. It’s good to know the rules. They have to ask themselves: Would Max have left space there? No. Would Max have opened the door or left enough space to be overtaken in Turn 1? No, he wouldn’t have done that. So how do we handle the situation? I think it’s important that they decide how they want to race against each other. These are the rules now and we’re fine with that like this.”
In short, Antonelli and Russell will duel thinking about the possible maneuvers that Verstappen would make against them… Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our contents more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-24 17:39:00