It’s been a few years since Formula 1 introduced the Sprint format, and I was kind of surprised when I realized that until Saturday, Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve had never hosted one.
It should probably join the rotation full-time because it delivered a race that showed us a title battle for the ages between Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell is brewing.
The Silver Arrows locked out the front row of the grid — Russell on pole and Antonelli in P2 — for the 23-lap race, and that seemed to be thanks to a new upgrade package the team brought with them to Montreal.
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Russell got a better getaway when the lights went out, but Antonelli, who has really struggled with starts, hung with him, and within a couple of laps, the two were scrapping away.
And that’s when things got interesting.
Antonelli tried to make a move around the outside of Turn 1 and looked like he was ahead through the apex, but Russell came inside to take the next turn and forced Antonelli off the track.
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The 19-year-old championship leader was irate and was quick to hop on the radio and let his team know how unhappy he was with his teammate.
Not long after, Antonelli tried another move and ended up cutting another corner and bouncing through the grass.
That off allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to slip by and take P2, where he stayed.
Russell ended up winning the Sprint, followed by Norris and then Antonelli.
I think the second off Antonelli had was just entering the corner too hot, and may have been because he was still fuming from the incident at Turn 1.
Speaking of which, that one seemed pretty borderline. I think you could place the blame on either driver.
And, in fact, they saw it differently themselves.
But the biggest takeaway is that both drivers are going to do whatever they can to win this championship, and that’s a great thing for fans.
Not as great for the team.
In fact, team boss Toto Wolff had to give Antonelli a talking-to multiple times during the race, including once as he was pulling into the pits at the end of the race.
If any team is familiar with an intra-team battle for a championship and how that can go sideways, it’s Mercedes.
Who knows if it will get as intense as the infamous 2016 title battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton — which Rosberg won, but not before the two crashed into each other during the Spanish Grand Prix — but it seems like we may have just taken the first step in that direction.
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