The internal dispute at Mercedes is the main highlight at the start of this Formula 1 season, with Kimi Antonelli taking the championship lead after winning two consecutive races. The Italian outperformed teammate George Russell, who had secured victory in the opening round in Australia.
Read more F1: Brundle criticizes Verstappen’s attitude and cites Schumacher
The team’s good form raises expectations of a direct title fight between the two drivers. However, former driver David Coulthard questions whether Antonelli will be able to maintain his performance throughout the season: “Another thing will be: does he have the stamina for a Formula 1 season? Because it’s exhausting,” he said. “That’s what we saw with Oscar Piastri last year. He arrived in Baku needing to win that race and made a series of mistakes. That’s when Lando Norris, with more experience, managed to come out on top.”
Coulthard also advised Russell to change his stance in the internal dispute. “If I were George Russell, this is now a war zone,” he told the Up to Speed podcast. “No more ‘nice guy’. We already said that after Kimi’s first win.”
Read more F1: Brundle says Russell «lost his head» in Japan
He also cited an interaction between Russell and team principal Toto Wolff. “I saw a very good interview online with Toto and George, where they were kind of doing a real-time debrief. I thought it was great that Mercedes shared that on social media. It gives us an idea that Toto is there, at one moment, trying to lift George up. And on the other side saying ‘you did it, I always believed in you’.”
Read more F1: Stella says Piastri is in his best form since debut
