“I haven’t forgotten how to drive”: George Russell defiant amid Antonelli F1 run

George Russell says he’s “not forgotten how to drive” following a tough Miami Grand Prix in which Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli won again.

George Russell came into the new campaign as favourite to win the title, but currently trails team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 20 points after four rounds.

The Italian is in the midst of a dominant start to his sophomore F1 season, with Antonelli winning the last three grands prix from pole.

He is the first driver in F1 history to win their first three grands prix from pole position.

Russell struggled across the Miami weekend, finishing 43.051s from Antonelli in fourth.

“I’m not even considering it”

Asked about Antonelli’s run against his, Russell told Sky F1 on Sunday: “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’ve still got the confidence in myself, and I’ve also been there; I’ve not forgotten how to drive.

“It’s just a little bit of a tricky run, but we’re four races down, a long way to go and we’ll reassess things over these next few weeks.”

Russell later pointed out to the media, including Crash.net, that luck went against him in China and Japan, where he had pace enough to win, and is confident momentum will eventually swing back in his favour.

“Clearly, he’s in a really great place at the moment, and momentum is with him.

“But, I’ve got enough experience from championships I’ve won myself in how momentum swings throughout a year.

“And also looking at the championship last year. To be honest, I’m not even considering it [the gap].

“I just want to give back onto the top step of the podium.

“The first three races I had the performance to do that. This weekend I absolutely did not have the performance to do that.

“I could be standing here now with three very different results from the last three races and this would be just a bit of a one-off.

“But obviously, things worked out differently in Japan and China. But that’s Formula 1 sometimes.”