(Motorsport-Total.com) – In Formula 1, George Russell drives with start number 63, but currently, the number 68 is likely much more relevant for him. That’s how big the points deficit to Kimi Antonelli in the World Championship has become after his renewed zero-point finish in Monaco.
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Although Mercedes continues to emphasize letting the two drivers race freely against each other and giving them equal opportunities, many experts now recognize at least signs that an increasingly clear pecking order is emerging internally.
Marc Surer, for example, attributes this to the fact that the team incurred a drive-through penalty for Russell in Monaco, as reported by Motorsport-Total.com. “The team forgetting to serve the penalty is typical for a number 2 in the team,” said the expert.
Russell had initially received a five-second penalty on Sunday, but because the team disregarded it during the subsequent pit stop, the FIA increased the penalty again – and Russell dropped to third place and completely out of the points.
Ralf Schumacher also believes that Russell is slowly losing ground. Antonelli, who secured his first “Grand Slam” in Monaco, “really made the Brit look old,” said the expert on Sky‘s podcast Backstage Boxengasse.
Russell as the “perfect” number 2 for Mercedes?
The deficit in the World Championship is “a disaster for Russell, because of course everyone assumed he would be fighting for the World Championship,” Schumacher recalled. And even apart from the purely sporting situation, the expert sees an internal problem for Russell.
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“Of course, he knows that Toto Wolff loves Kimi Antonelli like a son. And he sees that in the reactions,” said Schumacher, who also clarified that after six races, it is still too early to write off the World Championship.
Monaco: Driver ratings from Marc Surer and the editorial team
Nevertheless, it currently looks like Antonelli will win the internal battle – even in the long term. That’s why the six-time Grand Prix winner would also advise Toto Wolff against signing Max Verstappen, should the opportunity arise.
Should Antonelli continue as he has been, “Toto Wolff would be crazy to bring someone into the team who is so strong and brings even more pressure. He already had that with Hamilton and Rosberg, it makes no sense,” Schumacher recalled.
“A clear number 2, which George Russell is currently developing into, would be perfect,” he believes. Russell has achieved six Grand Prix victories in his entire Formula 1 career so far. Antonelli celebrated his fifth in a row in Monaco and could therefore draw level with Russell at the upcoming race in Barcelona.
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