MONACO - Championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes teammate George Russell say they will continue racing wheel to wheel at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix despite team boss Toto Wolff's warning of a possible handbrake.
At last month's Canadian Grand Prix, 19-year-old Antonelli was furious after contact during the sprint race. In the main event, they clashed for the lead before Russell retired with a power unit failure, handing Antonelli a fourth straight win.
Wolff called it "good cinema" but said their duel cost time and he might intervene if team points are at stake.
Antonelli said discussions took place before Monaco: "The end of the discussion was you can race each other fairly as long as there is respect. We'll keep racing each other like in Canada but a bit more smartly. The team wants us to race freely because you can't really put a leash on a driver."
Russell insisted there are no concerns: "We have to be trusted. We'll keep fighting but we know the boundaries."
Antonelli is the first Italian since Alberto Ascari in 1952 to win four races in a row and the first driver in F1 history to take his first four wins consecutively.
With Monaco marking the start of an intense period, Antonelli is now the target. He dismissed pressure: "It's too early to talk about the championship. You can't lose something you haven't achieved."