George Russell urged to 'fix' core issue in F1 title hunt

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has outlined the areas George Russell needs to “fix” if he is to remain involved in the championship battle.

Russell secured second place at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, finishing behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who claimed his first victory with the Italian team.

The Mercedes driver had appeared set to finish third after being overtaken by team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the closing stages, before Antonelli suffered a terminal power unit failure.

The result allowed Russell to reduce the gap to Antonelli in the drivers’ standings, with the pair now separated by 50 points.

However, Brundle believes Antonelli’s ability to close in on Russell over the course of a stint is an issue the Briton must address.

“In the second half of each tyre stint Antonelli had a speed advantage to catch Russell, but couldn't quite make the overtakes stick,” Brundle wrote in his Sky F1 column.

“This has been a theme generally so far this season and something George has to fix if he wants this championship.”

While Antonelli still has a significant lead in the standings, both Mercedes drivers have voiced concern over the reliability of the power unit.

Brundle stated Antonelli now appears to be in a more vulnerable position compared to the start of the weekend.

“Not long after Antonelli finally passed Russell his car ground to a halt with four laps to go,” he said. 

“It was agonising for the championship leader, and suddenly, just a week after his majestic victory in Monaco, he now leads Hamilton by 41 points and Russell by 50. 

“With 399 points still available this season that somehow doesn't feel anything like as commanding a lead as it did on Saturday evening.”