Russell distances himself from Antonelli alliance in bid to halt Hamilton

The Mercedes driver, who was previously tipped by bookmakers as one of the favourites for championship success, has so far endured a season that has fallen well short of expectations. After seven rounds, Russell has managed three podium finishes and is yet to secure a race victory since the opening weekend in Australia.

However, amid his difficult start to the campaign, Russell now finds himself trailing both teammate Antonelli and Hamilton, who has continued to build momentum over the last three races. The seven-time world champion, in the colours of Ferrari, claimed his maiden victory of the season in Barcelona, extending his advantage over Russell in the standings while also cutting the gap to Antonelli to 41 points.

When asked in his post-race media session about the possibility of joining forces with Antonelli to fend off the resurgent Hamilton in the title battle, Russell remained measured in his response. He stressed that he is currently behind both drivers in the championship and emphasised that his approach will not change, focusing instead on maximising each weekend.

“Well, at the moment, you know, Lewis is obviously ahead of me in the championship. We need to see across the course of a couple of races. They did bring a big upgrade here and I think the development slope is so steep at the moment for all of the teams,” Russell explains.

“Whoever is going to be bringing those upgrades earliest is going to be taking a step forward. And we saw it with McLaren in Miami, having a really strong weekend, and then ourselves and Ferrari have taken a step forward thereafter. So honestly, the approach doesn’t change for me. I’m just looking to maximise my weekends. It hasn’t been the case recently, and see where it takes us,” he concluded.

Earlier, Toto Wolff had raised the idea of issuing team orders between Russell and Antonelli following the latter’s pace advantage during the Barcelona Grand Prix. The Mercedes boss has said the team may have to “recalibrate” its decision to let the two drivers fight amid a growing threat from Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari.

While Wolff was pleased for his former driver Hamilton and his good friend Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, on their win, the Austrian could not hide his disappointment with the Silver Arrows’ race execution. As well as their third power-unit failure in a row, Wolff noted Mercedes’ decision to let Russell and Antonelli race as a key reason they failed to secure victory for the first time this season.