Kimi Antonelli’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, told the world championship leader that he and Mercedes team-mate George Russell’s cars were both under investigation during the Canadian Grand Prix. The team sent out that radio message after the pair’s cars made contact while battling for first place, but the stewards confirmed mere minutes later that they would not investigate the incident from Lap 24.
Before that issue arose, Karun Chandhok highlighted what Antonelli’s engineer told the Italian driver. He said on Sky Sports: “A very strange radio message from Peter Bonnington to Kimi Antonelli saying ‘both cars are under investigation,’ but nothing has come up on the timing screen. Make of that what you will… An internal secret coded message?” It was confirmed shortly after there was no investigation into the incident.
Antonelli went on to win the race for his fourth consecutive victory, extending his lead over Russell in the world championship to 43 points. However, he said after crossing the finish line: “Not the way I wanted to win. It was meant to be a good fight with George, but we will take it.”
In his post-race interview, Antonelli reiterated: “It was a fun battle with George. We were very much on the limit and it was not easy with the wind, very gusty, turn 10 was very difficult. It was very close, and it was a shame for him, as it would have been a very cool battle, but we will take it, another win.
Russell also enjoyed their tussle while it lasted. He said: “I thought the battle was great, to be honest. I loved it, really enjoyed it. It felt like the karting days. We didn’t make any contact, it was hard, close… I loved it. That’s what racing is about, and I’d have loved to have continued it for 30 more laps.”
The Brit also explained what happened with his car. Russell said: “Just everything turned off all of a sudden. I just went into the corner and, yeah, the engine stopped. No electronics, no proper braking. I’m just lost for words to be honest right now. It’s… yeah, I can’t say any more.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m proud of my weekend. Pole in the Sprint, won the Sprint, pole for the Grand Prix, and I was leading when I stopped, after a good battle with Kimi. From my side, I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend, so I’ll leave satisfied. Of course, I’m pretty damn frustrated with what’s happened, but what more can I do?”