Russell second on Antonelli’s day
Second GP, and second double for Mercedes. In Shanghai the W17 confirmed its clear superiority, deriving above all from the engine. Although Toto Wolff tries to hide it, the second stint revealed it, when even George Russell he had free rein.
The Briton could do nothing against Kimi Antonellibut was able to limit the damage in a complex weekend, marked by technical problems in qualifying and an unexpected battle against the two Ferraris. Having found Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on his path certainly didn’t help the #63, who still achieved a solid second place.
Russell’s words
Russell wants to put the classic hay on the farm, also because from the Monaco GP onwards the controls on the compression ratio will change, an aspect that can change the values on the track (even if Frederic Vasseur is not convinced): “We know there will be some changes with the engine, maybe in June. We don’t know what impact they will have, so we must make the most of the current situation“, this is his comment to Sky F1 Sports. “At the moment the biggest opponent is Kimi, it seems that we are the team to beat“.
Russell finally praised the Bolognese: “Congratulations, you had a great race. But also last year Kimi was extremely fastI expected it to be extremely fast this season. It wasn’t easy for either of us, especially at the start. Then I recovered positions, I was back in second place but the Safety Car came out with unfortunate timing. The Ferraris were also very fast on the restartso I lost positions with them. Coming second is not a bad result“.
