Kimi Antonelli is enchanting Formula 1 at the age of just 19. George Russell has been left behind in each of the last three races. But Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is sure: the Brit will strike back!
“I always said that George wouldn’t be a Grand Prix winner if he wasn’t a killer,” the portal “Crash.net” quoted Wolff as saying after the Miami Grand Prix.
Here Russell had to be content with fourth place. At the same time, the 28-year-old saw Mercedes team-mate Antonelli celebrating his third Grand Prix victory in a row.
According to Wolff, Russell will already be setting his sights on the Canadian Grand Prix (May 22-24). “There are still 18 races to go, a lot of points to be scored. I don’t think it’s important for him to think about what could happen at the end of the year,” said the Mercedes boss.
Russell: You can’t underestimate Antonelli
Russell was able to win the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne. From his point of view, the score in the team’s internal duel is now 1:3. In the overall standings, the gap to Antonelli is currently 20 points.
When asked whether he had underestimated his 19-year-old teammate, Russell reacted clearly after the Miami GP. “No, no, no, you can’t underestimate him at all. He’s a fantastic driver, incredibly fast since day one. You can’t win all the championships as a young guy if you don’t have the speed for it,” the British Formula 1 driver clarified on “Sky”.
He also has “optimism in me. It was simply a difficult weekend, but we have only had four races behind us. There is still a lot to come and we will see that we can get back to it in the next few weeks,” Russell also looked at the rest of the Formula 1 season. Mercedes is currently dominating in the premier class of motorsport. There are still enough chances for Russell.
