Fight between Antonelli and Russell recalls rivalry in F1: 'Hamilton x Rosberg'

The fierce dispute between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in the Canadian GP sprint, this Saturday (23), made fans remember one of the most explosive rivalries in the recent history of Formula 1. On social media, the Mercedes duo's touch and complaints on the radio led to immediate comparisons with the times of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who were involved in intense internal disputes between 2014 and 2016.

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Rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg marked Mercedes

Hamilton and Rosberg were the biggest rivalry in Formula 1 between 2014 and 2016. Childhood friends from their karting days, the drivers met again in the Mercedes garage when the seven-time world champion arrived to replace Michael Schumacher. What promised to be a meeting between old acquaintances turned into a “partnership” marked by fights and touching that ended their lasting friendship once and for all.

The Brit prevailed in 2014 and 2015, becoming three-time champion. In 2016, after a long battle on the track and psychologically, Rosberg won the championship for the first and only time and, shortly afterwards, retired. To this day, even away from the disputes on the tracks, Lewis and Nico have not reconciled.

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Understand incident between Antonelli and Russell

The big sprint dispute was between Mercedes' teammates. After starting very well and maintaining the lead, Russell began to be pressured by Antonelli in the first laps. The Italian had a strong pace and decided to go on the attack on the sixth lap, diving on the inside in turn 1 of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Antonelli placed the car side by side with his companion when taking the corner, and the two ended up touching each other in the fight for the lead. The Brit managed to brake later and navigate the line masterfully, maintaining the lead, while the Italian spread out, went over the grass and got in trouble.

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Shortly afterwards, in turn 8, Kimi attacked again aggressively, but ended up crossing the grass again and lost speed on the exit. The mistake was costly: in addition to failing to complete the overtaking, he was also overtaken by Lando Norris, falling to third position.

Fans go crazy with new rivalry

Fifth stage of the F1 2026 calendar

The race takes place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which will host the fifth stage of the calendar. Just like in China, the weekend also features a sprint race, a short race worth fewer points. See timetables below:

SATURDAY, MAY 23
🏎️ Sprint – 1pm (Brasília time) | Sportsv3, Globoplay (streaming) e F1TVPro (streaming)
🏎️ Race Classification – 5pm (Brasília time) | Sportsv3, Globoplay (streaming) e F1TVPro (streaming)

SUNDAY, MAY 24
🏎️ Race – From 5pm (Brasília time) | Sportsv3, Globoplay (streaming) e F1TVPro (streaming) ➡️ Lance! monitor in real time

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