India, May 26 -- The rain in Montreal washed away the rubber on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and along with it, stripped away the polished relationship between the two Mercedes drivers, revealing their true, raw and unyielding ambitions.

Following a frantic and breathless Canadian Grand Prix, one thing is absolutely clear: all gloves are off at Mercedes. The carefully nurtured harmony between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli has finally evaporated.

It was evident not just on Saturday when the two squabbled for the lead in the Sprint which saw a fierce wheel-to-wheel scrap where the traditional hierarchy was publicly defied. Sniffing an opportunity, Antonelli made an audacious lunge as Russell refused to be bullied by his junior, shutting ...