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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says George Russell will “leave no stone unturned” in the Formula 1 title race and expects his driver to bounce back in the next race in Montreal.
Russell is 20 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli after a disappointing weekend in Miami, where he lacked the pace of his younger Mercedes team-mate, who made it three races in a row.
The British driver put his deficit to Miami’s Antonelli on the low-grip track surface, but the title race will have to change at the Canadian Grand Prix – an event he won last year.
“George is a killer. What makes him so good is that he never stops fighting or attacking,” Wolf said. Sky Sports F1.
“I’ve seen him throughout his career in junior formula and karting and here (F1). He’s going for it and leaving no stone unturned.
“I have no doubt that the two of them will be fighting for points all season.”
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Speaking on the F1 Show podcast, David Croft issued a warning to George Russell that if he didn’t beat team-mate Kimi Antonelli in Canada, ‘alarm bells would ring’.
Russell has six more years of F1 experience than Antonelli and Wolff reckons the 28-year-old won’t be psychologically affected by seeing his team-mate win the last three races.
“These things, he analyzes them, looks at the data, comes to his conclusions and the conclusion is that he was never comfortable on this track and he never liked the smooth surface,” he said.
“That’s it. Tick the box. He’s looking at Montreal.
“I don’t think there’s any relevance in thinking about what will happen at the end of the year.”
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After a disappointing result at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes’ George Russell says the ‘real test’ will be in the next few races
Russell: I’m not considering the championship
Russell made his F1 debut with Williams in 2019 before joining Mercedes in 2022 and outscored Lewis Hamilton in their three seasons as teammates.
However, he has not been in an F1 title fight until this year but insists he has no worries about the title race with 18 rounds to go.
“Obviously he (Antonelli) is in a very good place at the moment and the momentum is with him. But, the championships I’ve won and how the momentum has been swinging throughout the year is enough experience and looking at last year’s championship, to be honest, I’m not even considering it.”
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Kimi Antonelli reflects on a chaotic Miami Grand Prix, where the Italian lost the lead on the first lap but regained it later to win his third race of the season.
“It’s true that I want to get back to the top step of the podium. The first three races, I had the performance to do it, but this weekend I didn’t have the performance to do it.
“So, I could stand here now with three different results in previous races, with this one (Miami) being a bit one-off, but obviously things worked differently in Japan and China, but that’s Formula 1 sometimes.”
Formula 1 next heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from 22-24 May. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime
