George Russell has played down any tension with teammate Kimi Antonelli, insisting their relationship remains strong despite an early-season title fight brewing at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
Kimi Antonelli heads into the Miami Grand Prix weekend with a nine-point advantage over Russell, having secured two race wins compared to Russell’s one before the April break.
With Mercedes expected to remain in contention, even as new regulations come into effect, attention is naturally shifting toward a possible intra-team rivalry.
George Russell On Relationship with Kimi Antonelli
However, George Russell made it clear that neither driver is focused on the championship narrative at this stage.
When asked about his terms with Kimi Antonelli, George Russell told the media that, “Not at all, to be honest. I think we’re both professionals, we’ve still got a very good relationship, and it is something that we’re not even talking about, to be honest. Within the team, it is not even being spoken about.”
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George Russell stressed that his priority is extracting maximum performance from the W17 rather than getting caught up in title calculations.
“I remember when I was a junior driver here in 2017-2018, when the fight was pretty strong with Ferrari, the championship wasn’t even on anybody’s mind.”
He continued, “What was on everybody’s mind was performance and getting the maximum from every single weekend, developing the car.”
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“That’s my personal mentality, I can’t speak for Kimi, but that’s how it is for now.”
The situation inevitably draws comparisons to the intense intra-team battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, which once defined Mercedes’ dominance in Formula 1.
For now, though, George Russell is keeping things calm. No rivalry drama, no internal friction, just a clear focus on performance as the season starts to heat up.
Also Read: George Russell Sends Warning to Mercedes Amid Rising Title Battle
