BAKU, Sept 25 (Reuters) – George Russell refused to rule out Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli as a threat to his victory hopes in Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite the Briton starting from pole and the championship leader 16thafter a costly qualifying crash.
“Obviously, you can’t discount Kimi,” said Russell after eclipsing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, his closest challenger, by 0.837 seconds in Friday’s qualifying.
“You know, started 19th in Monza and now he’s in 16th, so, yeah, he should be leading by a few laps early this time,” joked Russell after Antonelli recovered to win his home Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
Antonelli, who leads Russell by 81 points in the overall standings after 14 rounds, was sidelined in the opening phase of qualifying after he clobbered the barriers at the first corner and was forced to park up with a broken suspension.
The 20-year-old lost crucial track time after being hit by a hydraulics issue on the opening day of practice and has played catch up to Russell ever since.
The Briton in contrast has looked the more at ease and dialled-in of the Mercedes pair around the tricky Baku street circuit layout.
“I’ve been feeling in a great spot this whole weekend,” said Russell. “You know, as I’ve said recently, I’m just getting more and more on top of this car and what it requires, and it’s just all feeling more intuitive.”
Antonelli’s mistake provides an opportunity for Russell to put a dent in his championship advantage.
The last time he had such a chance was at Monza, when he started on the front row with Antonelli at the back of the grid.
He finished second to the Italian then but is determined to convert this time out in Azerbaijan.
“I’m feeling good,” said Russell.
“I think we’re in a great place to go for the win but, of course, this is Baku and anything can happen … but whatever happens, I feel confident that we can go for the win.”
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku; Editing by Ken Ferris)
