Toto Wolff has used Max Verstappen to highlight the rules of engagement he expects from George Russell and Kimi Antonelli after their F1 title feud ignited during the Canadian Sprint.
For the first time this season, Antonelli and Russell clashed, with the championship-leading teenager coming off second-best and voicing his anger and frustration over the radio during the Canadian Sprint, prompting Wolff to tell him to calm down.
On lap six of the 23-lap event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Antonelli initially made a move on Russell into Turn 1, only to take to the grass following a minor collision between the two as the Briton tried to hold his line out of the left-hander.
Later in the lap, on the approach to the chicane at Turns 8/9, and with Antonelli poised to attack Russell, he caught a bump that sent him hurtling onto the grass again, with the lost momentum allowing McLaren’s Lando Norris to claim second position.
At the chequered flag, Antonelli indicated that if that was how Russell wanted to drive, he was now aware. Wolff again jumped on the radio to inform the 19-year-old the situation would be discussed behind closed doors.
Offering an insight into the debrief, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff said: “It was good, like sport should be, or an intra-team battle, or outside, and for us, it’s good learning.
“We obviously went through these emotions with Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis [Hamilton], and a sprint race is always a possibility to recalibrate or recondition, and it was very easy.
“We sat them down and said, ‘How do we want to race? Are we racing the other car, like any third car’, which I’m fine [with], ‘and you don’t leave the space?’
“Or do you want to leave the space, which I would not expect, because fundamentally you are racing to win and winning a championship, or are we playing this super-smooth sailing, and you only overtake each other on the straight or under braking?
“We agreed that we trust them. They know how to push, but in any case, neither is expecting the other to leave space because it’s too important.”
Wolff then highlighted how he felt four-time F1 champion Verstappen would approach such a situation from both a defensive and attacking position.
“It’s good to know the rules,” said Wolff. “Would Max have left space there? No. Would Max have opened the door or left enough space in Turn 1? He wouldn’t.
“So, how do we want to do this between teammates? And I think it’s important for them to decide how they want to race each other, and then with the outcome.”
Is that today? You said they’ve got to decide, so it’s got to happen in the next few hours, yes?
“No, that’s the rules now, and it’s a framework that they have established amongst themselves, and we are happy.”
