Wolff praises Antonelli’s win but admits Russell fight was “a little too close for comfort”

Mercedes left the Canadian Grand Prix with mixed emotions after a dramatic afternoon that saw Andrea Kimi Antonelli take his fourth consecutive victory while George Russell retired from the race lead with a Power Unit issue.

Team Principal Toto Wolff described the result as “bittersweet,” acknowledging both the strength of the team’s performance and the frustration of losing one of their cars through no fault of the driver.

Russell started from pole but suffered a slow launch, losing out to both Antonelli and Lando Norris. Once Norris pitted early, Antonelli was released — but Russell quickly fought back, retaking the lead. What followed was one of the most intense intra‑team battles of the season: both drivers locked up, ran wide, went side‑by‑side, and came close to touching multiple times, yet the fight remained clean and respectful.

The lead changed hands repeatedly, with Antonelli appearing slightly faster while Russell was tidier and more precise. The duel looked set to continue until the final laps — until Russell suddenly slowed and pulled off the track with a loss of power, visibly devastated as he hit his car in disbelief. Antonelli then drove unchallenged to the finish, extending his championship lead to 43 points.

After the race, Wolff summarised the team’s emotions, saying: “It is always a bittersweet feeling when you win the Grand Prix with one car but the other retires through no fault of the driver.

"We are very happy as a team to take our fifth victory in a row to start the season. Congratulations to Kimi on his fourth win too; that is no easy feat and shows how much he has progressed this season.

"Commiserations to George though who put together a superb weekend. He took pole for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, and won the Sprint itself yesterday, and was leading the race when he had his Power Unit issue. He has had some bad luck so far this year, but we know how resilient he is and how he will bounce back from this. It is a very long season, and we are only at the start of the year.”

Wolff’s comments reflected both pride in Antonelli’s development and sympathy for Russell, whose weekend had been nearly flawless until the failure.

Wolff also addressed the fierce wheel‑to‑wheel fight between his two drivers, admitting that it was thrilling but nerve‑wracking to watch:

“It is not always easy to watch your cars battling as they were in the early stages, but it was great racing. It was maybe a little too close for our comfort at times but both George and Kimi raced hard but fair.

"We had the pace advantage that we were still able to maintain the gap over the chasing pack and that was important. I am sure we will see many more exciting races like this over the year ahead.”