Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
George Russell made some adjustments heading into the Miami Grand Prix, and the results could spell disaster for Kimi Antonelli.
With Antonelli winning the Miami Grand Prix, there has been a lot of talk about him surpassing George Russell as Mercedes’ first driver.
While Toto Wolff has warned Antonelli not to underestimate Russell, there is a growing fear that the British driver just can’t keep up with his young counterpart.
Do you think Kimi Antonelli will become Mercedes’ No. 1 driver?
Mercedes could back Antonelli over Russell if the gap between the two continues to grow with each passing race. And with Kimi Antonelli’s stellar form this season, it’s hard to rule that possibility out.
But the more experienced driver showed his savviness at the Miami Grand Prix, with Russell copying Antonelli’s setup to try and gain an edge. And his comments after the race suggest he may have understood how to get the best of the young Italian.
READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher warns that George Russell’s ‘English politeness’ won’t get him anywhere at Mercedes
George Russell asked Mercedes to review Kimi Antonelli’s setup after the Miami GP
After the Miami Grand Prix ended, George Russell spoke on the radio to his race engineers and explained how weird his experience was using Kimi Antonelli’s setup.
He mentioned that the braking setup for Antonelli was helpful, as it allowed him to find more lap time with it, before asking the Mercedes race engineers to look into the reasoning for it.
“Yeah, that was weird. I had to change some settings. They put some brake magic in it. Found a lot of lap time. Make sure you review that.”
If Mercedes can understand how and why Antonelli’s setup gives him such a distinct advantage over Russell this season, it could allow them to even the playing field between the two.
This could allow Russell to start closing the gap between him and Antonelli with some crucial race wins going forward.
READ MORE: Karun Chandhok says George Russell is showing the same weakness as Oscar Piastri in F1 title race
Will the Mercedes drivers fall out this year?
Or will Toto Wolff keep the peace like McLaren did?
It is far too soon to rule out George Russell from the championship race
With just four races having gone by, Kimi Antonelli now holds a 20-point lead over George Russell in the championship standings.
It’s easy to be a prisoner of the moment and expect Antonelli to zoom past everyone on the track for the remainder of the season.
But it’s very possible for Russell to start stringing performances together and chip away at the deficit in the weeks and months to come.
On top of that, Antonelli could succumb to the pressure of being in a championship race, having not had the experience to see it through.
We saw last year how Lando Norris managed to surpass Oscar Piastri and go on to win the title despite falling behind early on.
There is no reason why Russell cannot replicate Norris’ trajectory and gain the upper hand on his young teammate en route to his first world championship win.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
