George Russell implored to 'strike back' at Kimi Antonelli

Karun Chandhok has said George Russell must hit back at Kimi Antonelli at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, having lost control of the F1 drivers' championship fight to the Italian.

The Mercedes drivers have shared victories across the first three rounds of the campaign, but with the 19-year-old following up his maiden win in China by triumphing at Suzuka, he has put his more experienced team-mate on the back foot.

Antonelli leads the Briton by nine points in the standings, making him the youngest driver and first teenager to lead the championship in F1 history, as the paddock heads to Florida.

The Sunshine State was a happy hunting ground for the two-time grand prix winner last year, too, as one of the few weekends of the campaign that he was legitimately quicker than Russell.

And despite the latter insisting after the Japanese Grand Prix that no momentum will be carried over to Florida, on account of the five-week F1 spring break, Chandhok believes he must recapture the impetus at the Miami International Autodrome.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1, the former HRT and Team Lotus driver highlighted how interesting the dynamic between the two will be when the championship returns.

"I'm intrigued to see what happens when we go to Miami, because that was one of the tracks where he had a clear advantage over George last year," he said.

"It was Miami and Baku, I think, that were the two tracks where he was quicker than George; he had sprint pole, of course, if we remember last season."

It was a considerable outlier in the usual delta between the Mercedes team-mates last year, with Russell generally being around three-tenths of a second faster than Antonelli over one lap.

Whilst that deficit has dropped this term, the former does still retain a pace advantage. But if the first trip Stateside last year is anything to go by, the six-time grand prix winner could be in trouble.

Despite the tough task ahead, Chandhok was clear in what Russell must achieve, adding: "George will need to strike back in terms of that internal team momentum."