One team, one rivalry
Following the victory achieved in the first race of the championship in Australia, George Russell failed to repeat it in China and Japan, GPs in which his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli instead got the upper hand. Two successes that allowed the young Mercedes driver to take the lead in the world championship standings, but which at the same time risk generating an internal rivalry in Brackley between the Bolognese and the Briton.
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War immediately?
In this regard, former McLaren driver David Coulthard expressed his opinion on the Up to Speed podcast, ‘advising’ what Russell should do now: “If I were him, I would declare war on Antonelli at this very moment – he explained – stop being the nice guy. We had already said it after Kimi’s first victory. I saw a great interview with Toto Wolff and George where they were discussing the race (Japan). I thought it was fantastic that Mercedes shared that message on social media. It gives us an idea that Toto is there at a certain moment to help George. But on the other side of the garage, he is praising Antonelli: ‘You did it, I always believed in you’.
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In addition, Coulthard added his opinion on Antonelli, particularly on the possibility that the latter can maintain the pace shown in the last two races for the rest of the season: “It can be very tiring. We saw it last year with Oscar Piastri; he arrived in Baku for a race he should have won, but he made a series of mistakes. As a result, Lando Norris, with his greater experience, managed to make the difference.”
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