Toto Wolff says he doesn't want Kimi Antonelli to be a puppy in the car, but rather a lion

Antonelli was furious after the incident with Russell and made his opinion clear over the radio until Wolff shut him down, basically asking him to shut up and drive.

But the Austrian insists he needs his protégé to remain passionate without voicing an opinion that becomes nagging, which is an approach he used when seven-time Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton was a Mercedes driver and clashing with Nico Rosberg, his teammate at the time.

Wolff recalled: “When Lewis [Hamilton] went on a rant back in the day in Austria, I stopped it and said, 'Just drive the car; stop complaining’.

“Say it once but don’t be rude and don't go on about it, as then you are wasting my time as all the interviews I have to do are about whether the rivalry is getting out of control.

“People have emotions. We don’t expect a puppy in the car; we want a lion in the car. But we have heard it when it’s said once," he maintained.

As for the dynamic between Russell and Antonelli going forward, Wolff said: "I don't think there is going to be any lunging into the other car or anything that would put the two cars at risk.

"That has been made clear. I would expect them to race each other hard but clean," Wolff, who once threatened Hamilton and Rosberg to fire them after their crash in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, warned.

Russell maintained after the Sprint Race that he would not wave anybody by, and Wolff understands that.

He said: "Would Max Verstappen have left space? No. Would Max have opened the door? He wouldn't.

"So it is important for [Kimi and George] to decide how they want to race each other.

"It is a framework they have established among themselves, and we are happy," he added before revealing how Mercedes handled the situation, saying: "It was good, like sport should be, and for us it was good learning. We went through this with Lewis [Hamilton] and Nico [Rosberg].

"We sat them down and said, 'How do we want to race? Do you want to leave the space? I would not expect that, as fundamentally you are racing to win and win championships. Or are we playing super-smooth sailing and only overtaking on the straight or under-braking?'

"We trust them. No one is expecting the other to leave space, as it is too important," Wolff concluded.

Mercedes will have another test on how to handle their drivers very soon, as Russell will start the Canadian Grand Prix from pole with Antonelli, once again, starting from second place alongside him. (Source: Sky Sports F1)