Kimi Antonelli has built up a strong lead in the world championship with his recent victory in Montreal, partly thanks to George Russell’s retirement. The latter, however, says he feels little pressure; the season is still long and it is up to Antonelli to lose the championship. The young Italian is not impressed by those words. “I can’t lose what I haven’t won yet,” he reacted soberly.
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“I don’t attach much importance to that remark,” Antonelli told the press in Monaco. “It’s still so early in the season. I want to keep excelling and try to get the maximum out of the car. Then we’ll see where we stand at the end of the season. It’s hard to think you can lose something if you don’t have the championship yet. How can I lose something if I haven’t won it yet?”
Relaxed
“I don’t feel that much pressure,” emphasized the 19-year-old driver. “Actually, I feel quite relaxed. I’ll just keep doing what I do and try to raise the bar for myself. George Russell is a super strong teammate and he will make it difficult for me.” Fans are relishing the internal battle within Mercedes. The duels in the first thirty laps of the Canadian GP were perhaps the highlight of the season so far.
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One who may have enjoyed the skirmishes less is Toto Wolff. The Mercedes team boss had to calm Antonelli and Russell during the sprint event in Montreal; after a failed overtaking maneuver by the Italian, tempers flared over the team radio. “We are both in an excellent position, we both have a great car and we both want to win,” Antonelli clarified in an interview with Sport.de. “During the races, we naturally want to treat each other fairly and not cause unnecessary chaos within the team. And of course, we don’t want to make Toto (Wolff, ed.) angry,” he added with a laugh.
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