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David Croft saw signs that George Russell is starting to get worried about Kimi Antonelli as a potential title rival.
Antonelli and Russell’s title fight seems to be heating up, especially after Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix to leapfrog Russell in the championship standings.
There is a concern that Russell and Antonelli’s title race could derail Mercedes as the season goes on, especially given Russell’s apparent status as lead driver.
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Antonelli looks ready to compete with Russell for the championship should it come to that, as he isn’t scared to ruffle his teammate’s feathers.
But it was Russell’s comments during the Japanese Grand Prix that raised some concern for David Croft, who thinks he is starting to feel the pressure.
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David Croft thinks George Russell’s radio message showed he’s worried about Kimi Antonelli
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, David Croft pointed out a ‘strange’ radio message where George Russell asked about Kimi Antonelli’s strategy coming out of the safety car’s end.
Croft believes this was a sign that Russell is starting to get worried about Antonelli as a title rival and is trying to find a way to beat his young teammate.
“There was a really interesting point, just before the safety car restart. George is on the radio saying, ‘Can we just confirm he’s going to go to go where we trained, please?’ Now, whether Kimi did or not, he certainly got a better start than George did.
“Why is George Russell asking whether his teammate going to go when he thinks he is going to go? Is that because he’s a bit worried about Kimi? Is it still, ’we’re all part of the team here’?
“Is George feeling a bit unsure of the situation? Thinking about it afterwards, I found it a really strange thing for him to be saying at the time. They might be teammates, but they’re rivals here. George, if you think he is going to do exactly what you think he’s going to do, think again!
“Kimi is the sort of driver who now has confidence to go with his talent, knows he can go out there and go for the win. It’s not about the team all the time.”
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Martin Brundle thinks George Russell looked poor at Japanese Grand Prix
Adding to David Croft’s comments, Martin Brundle noted that George Russell didn’t get the answer he hoped for from Mercedes, leading to his poor restart at Suzuka.
“On that restart, I think George got mugged after the restart like he did in China. If there’s an agreement that we will do this on a restart, I’m sure that’s what he was saying.
“And he didn’t get the answer he wanted. He ended up on the restart, clearly without his battery where it needed to be, because the Ferraris were all over him once again.”
Russell will be hoping to turn things around at the Miami Grand Prix when the season resumes, as he will want to prove that he is still the top title contender within Mercedes.
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