David Coulthard says George Russell’s heart ‘wasn’t in it’ during Kimi Antonelli fight in Barcelona

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David Coulthard has claimed that George Russell’s heart ‘wasn’t in it’ during his battle against Kimi Antonelli in Barcelona.

After a string of disappointing performances, Russell arrived at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya under immense pressure to stay close to Antonelli.

The Brit reminded everyone what he is capable of as he secured pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Antonelli.

During the race, Russell was eventually beaten by Hamilton, who secured his first win as a Ferrari driver.

Meanwhile, Antonelli was forced to retire due to a car problem shortly after overtaking Russell. Looking ahead, Russell is now nine points away from Hamilton and 50 points adrift of Antonelli.

If you were George Russell, which driver would you have recommended as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement?

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David Coulthard says George Russell’s heart ‘wasn’t in it’ during Kimi Antonelli fight

Speaking after the race, Coulthard stated that Russell’s heart ‘wasn’t in it’ during his fight against Antonelli. 

The 55-year-old, who drove for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull during his F1 career, accused Russell of making late moves to ‘push’ Antonelli wide. 

Coulthard said on Channel 4: “This is going to be a tough one. It felt like, I said it in commentary, it felt like his heart wasn’t really in it when he went for the defence. He pushed him late and pushed him towards the grass.

“Look, he got the pole, he’s been brilliant all weekend, but he’s been out-performed until this moment (Antonelli retirement).

“Listen to that Mercedes; it’s like an old tractor- that is a major malfunction. Toto, it will not be lost on him that they have got a quick package, but they have got an Achilles’ heel, and it is the reliability of the powertrain.”

“Your teammate’s success is your failure and your teammate’s failure is your success. He will (celebrate), but he will be worried about the reliability issue that has already cost him points in Canada and could cost him points in the future.”

READ MORE: George Russell must now regret what he told Toto Wolff about replacing Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff says Mercedes ‘can’t compete’ for world title if reliability issues continue

Antonelli’s retirement in Barcelona comes after Russell suffered a similar fate during the Canadian Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, McLaren, who are running Mercedes power units, have also experienced several issues this season, forcing both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris out of races.

Speaking after the Barcelona Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Wolff stated that it is ‘not good enough’ to have this many problems.

As per F1’s official website, Wolff said to Sky Sports: “We just can’t compete for a championship if every second race a car is losing fat points.

“It’s one and then the other, and to finish first, first you have to finish. That’s just not good enough.”