George Russell reveals Mercedes message to Kimi Antonelli during difficult F1 run

George Russell has jumped to the defence of Kimi Antonelli amid the rookie driver's difficult run of form.

Antonelli has endured a challenging period behind the wheel of the Mercedes of late, having had a successful opening stretch with five top-six finishes in the opening six grands prix.

However, his performances have taken a downturn of late. Aside from a maiden podium in Canada and a 10th place last time out in Hungary, Antonelli has struggled for points across the European leg of the campaign.

The Italian has stated he has lacked confidence in the car, with Mercedes admitting it has taken a wrong direction with its development.

While the results have not gone Antonelli's way, Russell argued his team-mate's performance has improved as hte season has progressed.

"As a young driver you've got to look at it objectively, which is in terms of his own personal performance," Russell told media including RacingNews365.

"You can argue he's probably actually performing better than he did at the start of the year when you look at the deficit in terms of lap time.

“It’s just the differences. In Canada, when we were on pole he was in fourth place over half a second behind and in Spa he was only three-tenths behind me.

“But that was the difference between out in Q1 or getting through to Q3.”

As Antonelli continues to navigate the difficult period, Russell stated Mercedes has informed the teenager he shouldn't be worried about his lack of point-scoring results.

“The team have made it very clear he shouldn't worry about those results, he's still doing a very good job considering his experience,” Russell added.

“The car has brought us both backwards. So that's, of course, very difficult to accept when you're in that position.

“It’s never easy when the car is not performing as you expect."