George Russell: Mercedes driver says Kimi Antonelli deserves to be at the front of F1 title fight and ‘I need to get better’ | F1 News

George Russell has admitted he needs to improve if he is to remain in contention for the title this season.

Having started the season as the clear title favourite, Russell has been impressed by the pace of young Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and trails the Italian by 25 points at the top of the standings after nine rounds.

While Russell has had a couple of bad lucks, Antonelli has also been unlucky in recent weeks, retiring with engine failure at Barcelona and then going from a possible win to a pointless finish in Sunday’s British Grand Prix after another technical issue.

Despite lacking pace throughout the weekend, Russell capitalized on mistakes and mistakes from rivals to finish second at Silverstone, 18 points clear of Antonelli.

Russell said: “The feeling (of the car) was good, but the lap times were slow. And like I said, there were things that were out of my control that contributed a lot to that, and things that I had control over.”

“I’m still finding it difficult to understand this car. I’m probably still going this weekend, although I’m very grateful to be on the podium, I left a lot less satisfied than in Canada, when I came out on top.

“And if I want to fight for the title, the games must be better. I must be better. I need to work better with my team. We need to improve everything.”

Mercedes’ technical problems allowed Lewis Hamilton to stay within striking distance, with the seven-time world champion seven points behind Russell in the drivers’ championship after finishing third at Silverstone.

Russell added: “We have a close battle now with Ferrari, so it’s not just me and Kimi, Lewis is still very close. It needs improvement.”

Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc’s first win of the season also helped Ferrari close the gap on Mercedes at the top of the Constructors’ Championship to 78 points, but Russell insisted he was focused on himself rather than being threatened by the Italian team.

“I don’t think about it at all, to be honest, because I have my own things to deal with and improve on my side,” he said.

“I left Monaco three races ago 68 points behind and I leave here behind 25 points. So, I can take it, but it won’t continue like that forever unless the results, the performance, improve.”

‘Antonelli deserves to be ahead of me’

Russell also acknowledged that Antonelli has earned his championship by doing a “better job” so far this season.

Earlier this year, Russell repeatedly suggested that his points deficit to Antonelli was a stroke of luck, but the Italian’s blistering pace in recent weeks appears to have changed the Brit’s view.

The Mercedes duo have had engine failures to finish each race, with Russell hampered by a technical problem in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix and also losing points in Monaco due to a controversial speeding penalty.

Antonelli had enjoyed a clean campaign until Barcelona, ​​when his engine failed after passing Russell for second. Then, on Sunday, he was seen chasing Leclerc to victory when the wheel guard on his car broke.

Asked if he thought Antonelli’s recent bad luck had balanced the two, Russell said: “Whether luck worked or not, I’m not sure.

“However, based on my performance and his performance during these nine races, I think a 25-point gap in his favor is probably fair.

“He has done a better job than me this year so far, so he deserves to be ahead of me.

“Whether it should be 25 points, or whether it should be 10 points, or whether it should be 35 points is debatable, but in that ballpark in between… obviously I lost 15 points and in Monaco with a drive-through penalty. I think anywhere from 10 to 30 points behind is about right.”

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