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Ralf Schumacher believes George Russell, despite his brilliance, is at risk of losing his first driver role at Mercedes to Kimi Antonelli.
Russell falling behind Antonelli could affect his mindset, as he saw his young teammate win his third straight race while he missed out on a podium for the second race in a row.
Some believe Russell may have underestimated Antonelli coming into the new season, and is now paying the price for it.
Will the Mercedes drivers fall out this year?
Or will Toto Wolff keep the peace like McLaren did?
Toto Wolff still believes Russell can compete with Antonelli in their title race. But his recent slump in form looks like it could derail his season.
And Ralf Schumacher believes George Russell, despite being a brilliant driver, is not going to be the priority for Mercedes over Kimi Antonelli for much longer.
READ MORE: Damon Hill fears Toto Wolff hurt George Russell by ‘playing with him’ over Mercedes contract
Ralf Schumacher believes Kimi Antonelli ‘outclassed’ George Russell at the Miami Grand Prix
Ralf Schumacher spoke on the latest episode of Backstage Boxengasse about George Russell’s struggles with Mercedes compared to Kimi Antonelli.
He noted that Antonelli outperformed Russell quite easily at Miami, and if this continues, Russell will quickly lose his status as Mercedes’ number one driver to his young teammate.
“Something like that can happen with a change to the car that suits him. The car could feel closer to his liking, and the same can happen with the racetrack. Not every driver is equally good on 24 racetracks… But Kimi Antonelli completely outclassed George Russell this weekend. The gaps were huge…
“That’s a real blow for Russell. Perfect for Toto Wolff, because he now has his number one, who can compete for the world championship, and George Russell, who can score points. That’s how things look at the moment.
“Something will change in the team now. People will increasingly listen to Kimi more. He naturally has influence over everything through his race engineer.
“That could be interesting for George Russell. Can he turn things around? I think that’s unlikely. I believe that if things continue like this, he will be the number two driver very quickly.”
“Kimi is authentic. George Russell is not authentic. George is playing a certain game with his English politeness, and it’s backfiring on him.
“If you’re not who you are, it will suit him to be that kind of person at the moment. Everyone obviously notices it from the outside. The season is still, and things can still change.”
READ MORE: David Coulthard thinks Mercedes now ‘expect’ Kimi Antonelli to be their leader over George Russell
Do you think Kimi Antonelli will become Mercedes’ No. 1 driver?
Ralf Schumacher believes George Russell can still turn things around with Mercedes
Ralf Schumacher added that he still believes in Russell as a talented driver and thinks he has enough time to surpass Antonelli, especially given the latter’s lack of experience.
“From my point of view, George Russell is definitely a superb Formula 1 driver, and has just as much chance to win the world championship this year with his experience. We’ve only just started, and two races have already been cancelled.
“You can tell that things aren’t running as smoothly as they were before. I can relate to that. You have phases where your teammate is faster, and then you desperately want to get there, and you can tell that he tenses up… How long will it take for George to get out of this?
“It will get difficult for Antonelli, too. The more you win, the more you want it, and then maybe too much. He still makes small mistakes, and starting is still a problem for him. He needs to work on that.”
There is concern that Russell and Antonelli will eventually clash in their pursuit of the title, something they’ve avoided in the first few races of the season.
If he wants to get back in the title races, Russell needs to find his fire and get back to competing for race wins with his teammate.
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