Toto Wolff on Antonelli vs Russell: “We would have looked like idiots”

In the end, the two Mercedes drivers crossed the finish line of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday afternoon peacefully one behind the other: Kimi Antonelli, who had started from 19th on the grid due to an engine penalty, became the first Italian winner of the Italian Grand Prix since 1966. And his team-mate George Russell finished second. But it wasn’t all that harmonious throughout the race. It was a real nail-biter for Mercedes fans and in the Silver Arrows’ pit lane.

Although the two Silver Arrows had started as far apart in the field as possible (Antonelli 19th, Russell 2nd), the pair were locked in a close battle during the final laps; Antonelli even dramatically went off onto the gravel at Turn 3 on lap 49 because the two team-mates were battling so fiercely. And even before that, around the middle of the race, the pair had been locked in numerous close duels, until a brief safety car period was triggered on lap 28 due to Stroll’s stranded Aston Martin. Antonelli pitted for a tyre change to save time, whilst Russell, still in the lead, stayed out; the rivals were separated – until the final laps.

This isn’t the first time this season that things have been a hair’s breadth between the two Silver Arrows. For fans, memories of the ‘War of the Stars’ from the Hamilton/Rosberg era were brought back, at the latest in Canada (where Russell retired with engine failure after many close encounters). So far, however, there has been no disaster in the team’s internal racing.

This is how Toto Wolff viewed the close encounters

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said after the race in Italy: “We try to anticipate possible scenarios. The pair have understood and embraced the team dynamic superbly, which is difficult for a racing driver who wants to win a Grand Prix, particularly for Kimi at Monza and, above all, for George, who needs to keep scoring points to stay in the running.” Following the Italian Grand Prix, the points gap between the two team-mates stands at 66 points.

Wolff: “I already had my finger on the button”

However, despite the close encounters at Monza, Wolff says: “They’ve always driven fairly. Sometimes we thought: ‘That’s fair enough, but it’s a bit close. And I already had my finger on the button to warn Marcus, Bono, Kimi or George, but I didn’t press it.” Marcus Dudley and Peter “Bono” Bonnington are the race engineers for the two Mercedes drivers.

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Wolff on the incident on lap 49, when Antonelli had to swerve into the gravel: “The last incident was regrettable. George tried not to cut the corner, and Kimi was then obviously on the marbles and drove straight on – that could have ended in a disaster in terms of the race result. We’d have looked like idiots. That’s why we’ll be discussing this situation as another building block in how we want to race in future. But I think it was worth showing the team’s racing spirit and letting the drivers compete against each other.” It was certainly thrilling – and, after all, everything turned out fine!