The Canadian GP exposed a smoldering fire at Mercedes. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli showed they are not to be outdone by each other and nearly knocked each other off the track several times. In the latest episode of the podcast Formula 1 Paddock Talk, driver and analyst Jeroen Bleekemolen joins to shed some light on it.
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The comparison with other rivals within the same team immediately comes to mind, and Bleekemolen seizes it right away. “Of course, we have the best example with Rosberg and Hamilton,” he says. But anyone who thinks Toto Wolff can keep his drivers neatly in line is mistaken. “This cannot be managed. You simply have two good drivers. How do you keep them apart? You can’t. They have the same equipment, so they are about equally fast.”
And what about the papaya rules, the code of conduct with which McLaren tries to manage the relationship between Norris and Piastri? Bleekemolen is brief about it. “I wouldn’t advise him that.” His alternative might be the most honest advice Wolff can get: just let go. “Then it will go completely wrong once. So be it.” Because, Bleekemolen reasons, racing drivers are not team players who conform to protocols. “They just want to win.”
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