Russell eyes title fightback as Antonelli extends championship lead

He said: “No, not at all. I mean, he's a fantastic driver, and he's been exceptionally quick since day one. You don’t win all of the championships as a youngster if you don't have the speed, but I still have the confidence myself, and I've also been there.

“I'm not forgetting how to drive, and it's just a little bit of a tricky situation, but there is still a long way to go. And I think we'll assess things over these next few weeks.”

When asked if he could explain his gap to his teammate, Russell, who admitted he struggled all weekend in Miami, added: “I have got some ideas, to be honest. For the last 10 laps, we were much more competitive. We made some quite big changes with my differentials and my brake bias, closer to what Kimi has been running this whole weekend. It made a bigger impact than I thought, but still, it was not a good weekend. I know this place is always a really tough one for me.”

Despite the setback, Russell was determined and suggested that improvements made late in the race could offer a foundation heading into the next rounds.

With circuits like Montreal expected to suit the Mercedes package more, there is quiet optimism that the gap can be reduced quickly. Internally, the team continues to evaluate setup direction and extract more consistency from the car, particularly over a full race distance.

Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff anticipates that Russell will fight back in the championship, calling him “a killer”.

Wolff said: “George is a killer, OK? And what makes him so good is that he never stops fighting and never ducking, and you saw that throughout the junior formula and here in F1.

“He is going for this and not going to leave any stone unturned, and I have no doubt the two of them are going to fight for points all season.”