George Russell adamant viral Austrian GP radio wasn’t a dig at Kimi Antonelli

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George Russell insists there was no ‘intentional’ dig at Kimi Antonelli during his pole celebrations at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Russell took his second pole in succession and his fourth of the season, with Mercedes teammate Antonelli only fourth.

Antonelli called for a review after Russell controversially kept pole despite a yellow flag in sector three following Max Verstappen’s crash. The Italian mistakenly thought it was a double-yellow zone rather than a single, and aborted his lap.

‘I was just joking’ – George Russell on ‘calmo’ radio message at Austrian Grand Prix

Russell briefly lifted off in deference to the single yellow but was still able to carry enough speed through the last two corners to snatch pole position from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Having fortuitously gained 18 points on Antonelli in Barcelona after the teenager retired, Russell now has a golden opportunity to take further inroads on the 50-point deficit. It’s the first time all year that he’s started more than two places ahead of his teammate.

“Oh yes!” Russell said on the radio afterwards. “Stay calmo, stay calmo!”

Given that ‘calmo’ is ‘calm’ in Italian, many inevitably wondered whether this comment was aimed at Antonelli. The clip was shared thousands of times on social media.

Asked about the meaning behind the message in an interview with Sky Italia, Russell emphatically dismissed that theory.

“Oh my God, no, I was just joking,” he said. “I want to clarify because there was nothing there, let’s clarify because there was absolutely nothing intentional.”

The tension between Antonelli and Russell peaked at the Canadian GP, when the championship leader thought he had been forced off track during the Sprint race.

An accident was just about avoided in their thrilling Montreal duels, but Toto Wolff has kept the situation under control thus far.

Going forward, Wolff could even impose team orders to prevent the two drivers battling if he feels it will hand too great an advantage to Ferrari.