Kimi Antonelli told to stop moaning twice by Toto Wolff in heated Canadian Sprint radio exchange

Kimi Antonelli labelled his Mercedes team-mate George Russell ‘naughty’ during a tense Sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Italian felt he had been forced off the track on lap six of 23 in Montreal on Saturday.

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Antonelli’s furious reaction on the team radio saw Team Principal Toto Wolff step in on more than one occasion as tempers flared.

Russell had started the sprint on pole ahead of Antonelli as he looked to close to gap to the Drivers’ Championship leader.

Following the incident, Antonelli was immediately heard over the team radio making his feelings known.

The 19-year-old exclaimed: “That was very naughty. That should be a penalty. I was alongside the mirror.”

His outburst was met with a response from race engineer Pete Bonington, who attempted to calm the situation.

Bonington replied: “Let’s just keep it cool,” before adding: “So let’s just get this back under control Kimi, focus on (Lando) Norris, focus on the driving.”

Team principal Wolff then stepped in, telling Antonelli: “Kimi, concentrate on the driving please and not on the radio moaning.”

However, Antonelli continued his complaints following the chequered flag, having finished third behind Russell and Lando Norris.

The teenager said: “If we’re going to race like this, good to know.”

Wolff quickly shut down his protests, though, replying: “Kimi, now is the first time to talk about this. We talk about this internally and not on the radio. Ok.”

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Russell’s reaction

Both Russell and Antonelli spoke about the incident following the sprint race.

Having held on to win, the Brit explained: “It was a good, hard battle.

“Obviously I defended into Turn 1 and you never get overtaken around the outside of that corner, so I knew it was kind of pretty safe, but kudos to Kimi for giving it a go, and I respect that, and obviously, came out unscathed.

“I’m glad that we’re both sat here now. It could have been something different, but it wasn’t and that’s how racing should be.”

Meanwhile, Antonelli addressed his reaction during a post-race press conference.

He told reporters: “We do meetings before races, and that’s what we say in the room. Then, of course, we race to win, and we try to do our best to defend our opposition.

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“Probably I understood the significance of that meeting a bit differently, but, just obviously I need to recheck.

“Emotions were very high in the moment, and obviously I was very annoyed, but I just need to recheck, and for sure we’re going to talk about it, and we’re going to clarify on that.”

Russell’s Sprint victory reduces Antonelli’s lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings to 18 points ahead of Sunday’s race.

Qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is scheduled to begin at 9pm BST on Saturday.