Kimi Antonelli Sparks Mercedes Civil War: The Shocking Montreal Sprint Accusation
Mercedes won the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint, but the atmosphere inside the Brackley garage is rapidly turning toxic. George Russell successfully converted his pole position into a Saturday victory, but the triumph was entirely overshadowed by a highly aggressive, physical battle with his 19-year-old teammate. According to reports from GPBlog , the two Mercedes W17s explicitly made contact during the opening laps, sparking what looks to be the beginning of a brutal internal rivalry.
“I Got Pushed Off” Following the race, Kimi Antonelli refused to play the corporate PR game. When asked about the intense early scrap, the rookie championship leader bluntly accused his veteran teammate of crossing the line and forcing him off the circuit. “It was a tough battle, to be fair.
We were all there in terms of pace, it was not easy,” Antonelli explained during his post-race interview. However, he quickly zeroed in on the contact. “I tried to make my move and yeah, I need to review on that because I was quite well alongside and, yeah, got pushed off.
But, it is what it is. ” Miami Grand Prix, Sunday, Getty Images MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 03: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W17 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 03, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) Antonelli was forced to take severe evasive action to avoid a massive crash, with the interviewer joking that the teenager did the track staff a favor by “mowing the grass.
” While Antonelli maturely admitted that a subsequent lock-up over a nasty bump at Turn 8 is what ultimately compromised his podium chances, his anger over the initial shove was palpable. Russell’s Passive-Aggressive Relief and Wolff’s Ultimate Nightmare When Russell was asked for his perspective on the incident, he offered a carefully worded response that felt more like a warning than an apology. Noting how powerful the slipstream and engine overtake modes are in the 2026 cars, Russell casually brushed off the severity of the clash.