Mercedes fear George Russell may be facing a talent issue vs Kimi Antonelli

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George Russell knew he was fortunate to finish second in Sunday’s British Grand Prix after another frustrating weekend.

Russell did have to make an extra pit stop due to a slow puncture, but he was promoted back up the order by Kimi Antonelli’s damage, Max Verstappen’s DNF and Ferrari’s marginal call to pit Lewis Hamilton.

Russell reported a straight-line speed issue, but Toto Wolff was dismissive when he mentioned it on the team radio. Having trailed Antonelli by around three and a half tenths in both qualifying sessions, he knew he couldn’t be satisfied with his performance despite the eventual 18-point gain.

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Kimi Antonelli’s ‘innate skill’ makes the difference vs George Russell at Mercedes

It could be argued that Russell has not looked quicker than Antonelli in a Grand Prix since he won the season opener in Australia. Indeed, while this isn’t a catch-all metric, the Italian’s fastest lap has been quicker in seven of the last eight races.

With the reliability luck evening out at Mercedes, the gap in the standings has narrowed to 25 points. But Russell’s persistent pace disadvantage is deeply concerning for his prospects going forward.

Russell has been open about the learning curve he has faced since the regulation changes over the winter, but Mercedes think Antonelli may simply be better at finding the limit, which Jolyon Palmer described as an ‘innate skill’.

This is particularly evident when both drivers fit a set of new tyres. Unlike Antonelli, Russell isn’t fully ‘in tune’ with the car, which necessitates a more cautious driving style.

“He doesn’t seem to have a huge explanation for what’s going on,” Palmer said on the F1 Nation podcast. “I was speaking to the guys at Mercedes and they were saying, ‘Well, it just feels like Kimi’s able to drive it more on the limit of grip than George.’

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“[Russell] gets to what he feels is the car sliding around and, unless it’s a Q3 lap or something’s talking to him that extra bit and he’s going to take some risk, he’s not able to take it to that level, basically 100% of the car.

“They were almost saying that he’s underdriving it slightly, whereas you get Kimi there who’s so in tune with what the car’s doing. He’s got some feeling inside him that’s basically your innate skill to feel the car, and he’s able to do that more consistently.

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“If you look through the data, a lot of the time you see, first lap on a new tyre, Kimi’s able to execute the lap. Second lap on the tyre, George gets much closer. Maybe Kimi is taking that little bit more risk in the first lap when there’s more grip around, taking more out of the tyre.

“It’s a feeling that George is getting, and I don’t know how easy that is to fix.”