Kimi Antonelli confident George Russell relationship will survive Mercedes title fight

Kimi Antonelli has said he’s confident his relationship with teammate George Russell will remain strong, no matter what unfolds between them on track this season.

The two Mercedes drivers are leading the Drivers’ Championship and look set for a tight intra-team battle after winning all three races of the season so far.

Kimi Antonelli backs strong George Russell relationship

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With Mercedes having a clear pace advantage at the head of the field over the first three race weekends, George Russell won the first round in Australia before Kimi Antonelli scored his maiden win in China.

The teenager then followed this up immediately with a second consecutive victory by taking the win in Japan, benefitting from a fortunately-timed Safety Car that compromised Russell’s race as well as that of race leader Oscar Piastri for McLaren.

Mercedes is now 45 points ahead of its closest competitors, Ferrari, with Antonelli leading the championship by nine points over Russell. Charles Leclerc, in third, is the closest challenger with 49 points, meaning he is almost a full race victory behind Antonelli already.

It’s been an imperious start to the year for Mercedes, although there is still the chance of strong rivalries developing through the year; Miami, as the next rounds, comes after a five-week gap in which teams have had a chance to look closely at upgrades, while potential regulation changes pertaining to energy management could yet have an effect on the pecking order.

But, for now, the title fight looks like it’s set to develop between the experienced Russell and the young charge in Kimi Antonelli, with the Italian only embarking on his second season in the sport.

Intra-team rivalries in dominant machinery are certainly nothing new, with the most recent example being Piastri and Lando Norris at McLaren last season, a battle that never became heated as the drivers’ temperaments fit well with McLaren’s measured approach to the battle.

But not all teammate battles remain as stoic and, 10 years ago, Mercedes witnessed this first-hand as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s friendship turned toxic as teammates in the dominant machinery the Brackley-based squad produced between 2014 and ’16.

With the potential for their friendly partnership to turn in a different direction if the pair continue to pull away at the head of the field and become each other’s prime rivals this year, Antonelli believes there won’t be any such dramas between himself and Russell.

“Well, I think the relationship is very strong, and it doesn’t change,” he told select media, including PlanetF1.com, during the unofficial spring break.

“There’s a lot of respect between us, and we’ve been working very well so far, and there’s a very good dynamic in the team.

“Of course, I feel like I can be a challenger, and that’s what I’m here for. I want to race to win, and I want to race to win races and championships. So that’s my goal.

“Definitely, this year, it’s a massive opportunity for all of us, and especially also for George and me, because we have a very strong car, and both of us… we don’t want to waste this opportunity, so we’re going to do our best.

“But we also very aware that it’s very important to keep a good dynamic in the team, and that’s what we’re doing, because, of course, we have our own goals, which is to win and to be the best, but, at the same time, we want to help the team in the best way as possible to achieve also their goal, which is to win as well the Constructors’ Championship.

“So yeah, I believe that our relationship is strong and will be strong for the rest of the year.”

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Antonelli’s strong start has perhaps caught everyone by surprise after what was an inconsistent rookie season, in which the young Italian came out the other side of an apparent crisis of confidence during the middle part of the year.

Certainly, against the experience of Russell, Antonelli has – with the exception of a crash in FP3 in Australia – not put a wheel wrong and has capitalised on every opportunity that’s opened up for him.

Explaining that weekend how he is learning to better balance risk vs. reward as he grows in wisdom, Antonelli said he’s not letting the prospect of outright glory distract him from his goal of taking the season race-by-race.

“Definitely, I think it’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side, and I think definitely it’s been a very strong start to the season,” he said.

“Expectations automatically… they’re a bit different now, but, at the end of the day, I still try to keep the same mindset as I had in the first three races, just trying to keep focusing on what I have to do, on the goal and just trying to put myself in the best position as possible to then achieve a great result.

“What I don’t want to do is, now that obviously we’re in a good position, start to think about the final result, or long-term results.

“I just really want to focus on the present and how I can maximise every time I go in the car in order to get the best result, focusing on the process and and then, little by little, trying to raise the bar, raise the game, because, obviously, George is super strong, and competitors will get closer.

“So I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, but just trying to raise the bar, little by little.”

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