George Russell piles pressure on Kimi Antonelli with four-word comment | F1 | Sport

George Russell insists all the pressure is on Kimi Antonelli despite having been shown up by his teenage team-mate so far this year. With Mercedes expected to dominate the early rounds, experienced Brit Russell was the bookies’ clear pre-season favourite for title glory.

But Antonelli, 19 and in just his second Formula One season, has stolen the show and four Grand Prix wins in a row have put him 43 points clear already. Russell’s mission to get back on track begins this weekend in Monaco, where there is never any margin for error. And the mind games began on Thursday when Russell, 28, declared Antonelli the title favourite.

“It’s his to lose,” the Brit said. “If I look at it from my competitor’s position, you’re kind of in a position now that you’ve got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it or lose it. My mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race, the same as I’ve done this whole season. I’m going to fight the same, I’m not going to change my mentality at all, nor am I going to let this put any more pressure on me.

“I don’t feel like I need to get every single result possible, because the season is long enough that over the course of the season, it will swing if you’re the guy who’s on top. So I just need to continue being the guy who’s coming out on top, even if he’s the one at the moment who’s getting the results.”

Antonelli, meanwhile, is bidding to become only the ninth driver in F1 history to win five Grands Prix in a row. If he succeeds, he will match Mercedes predecessor Lewis Hamilton‘s best winning streak. The fact he is already threatening and breaking such records as a teenager is naturally attracting tremendous attention, especially in his homeland Italy.

Antonelli’s father Marco, also a former racer, is obviously proud of his son’s achievements but also has cause for concern. It’s a great moment, of course – but it’s also dangerous, because now we are at the top. One mistake, and you’re down,” he said.

“Every race is its own story. We have to work hard and take it step by step. He has to keep his feet on the ground because, as I said, one moment you’re the star and the next you’re the worst driver in the world. We are trying everything at this moment to help him deal with it. But then it’s just up to him to stay grounded and understand that it’s very difficult.

“We are still at the beginning of the world championship and the season is very long. Once again, it’s not at all certain that we’ll be in this position all year. We have to take one step at a time and get the maximum out of every race. Then, we’ll see.”