Canadian Grand Prix 2026: George Russell & Kimi Antonelli ‘lucky not to crash’ in sprint

Kimi Antonelli says he and Mercedes teammate George Russell were “lucky not to crash” when a crash occurred during the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Italian driver said he was “very disturbed” by an incident in which he attempted to pass Russell on the outside at Turn One on lap six and went off the track.

“I was in pretty good shape and there was definitely contact, so I need to double-check that,” Antonelli said.

Russell said: “It was tense, it was close but from my perspective it was very close, it was a tough race. I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“There was nothing wrong with the driving and it wasn’t even investigated. That’s enough.”

Antonelli complained over the team radio about Russell’s driving, but Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said he should stop “moaning”.

Wolff later added: “It was great cinema. There were tough battles, not just between the two of us, but also with Lando.” [Norris]. I really enjoyed watching it.

“You see how fast he’s going, you create a gap with two cars and then you start to fight a bit and you can lose the race. If it takes longer and we’re unlucky and it’s a grand prix, then Norris could well win.”

“I really enjoy these moments because it allows us to learn and say: ‘Okay, what are we doing with this situation, how are we going to deal with this in the future?’ Because you don’t want to lose a race, you don’t want to crash into each other, and sometimes we need a little time to remind ourselves what our goals are.

“It’s not particularly against one or the other. There is a framework we want to establish and I would prefer to do it in a sprint race where there are not many points, rather than in the main race.”