Antonelli staying level-headed after another F1 win puts him in a class of his own

The Italian extended his championship lead again in Montreal after surviving an intense early fight with teammate George Russell before the Briton retired with a failure. But while the win itself was impressive, Antonelli is taking it all in his stride. Even with a 43-point lead in the standings, he refused to get carried away.

“I’m not thinking about championship,” he said when asked about his lead in the championship. “I’m just focusing on race by race. I think it’s still very early to talk about that.”

The Mercedes driver also gave an honest assessment of his fight with Russell, admitting both drivers pushed things close to the limit, as they had done the previous day.

“It was a tough fight,” Antonelli explained. “I think a couple of times was maybe a little bit on the edge, but we were going at each other. We were both pushing and we both wanted to win.”

Mercedes’ latest upgrade package clearly worked well in Canada, although Antonelli suggested the team still does not fully understand where the gains are coming from yet because of the difficult tyre behaviour seen throughout the weekend.

“We’re not really clear on the package, if I’m being honest,” he admitted.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen spoke positively about the Mercedes driver’s current form, with Verstappen giving perhaps the strongest endorsement possible from a rival. “What he’s doing right now is working really well,” Verstappen said.

Mercedes’ pit wall weighed spectacle against strategy as Antonelli and Russell fought at the front in Montreal.

Boss Toto Wolff said the team would have ordered caution only if the gap to the chasers shrank, allowing the duel to continue until Russell retired from the lead.

He lauded Antonelli’s “splendid” drive while calling the outcome bittersweet given Russell’s misfortune.

Russell had dominated the weekend to that point, taking pole for both the sprint and the Grand Prix and winning Saturday’s sprint. His retirement came while dicing wheel-to-wheel with Antonelli, whose victory extended his championship lead to 43 points.

Wolff praised Antonelli’s drive but admitted the intra-team battle was on a knife edge, with both drivers warned to keep it tidy.