George Russell is leading his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Formula 1’s points standings, qualifying results, and he is the only Mercedes driver to take a race win so far this season. However, the Brit says these stats don’t paint the full picture of Antonelli’s start in F1.

The Italian rookie filled the gap left by Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this year after a strong junior career saw him triumph in Italian F4 and Formula Regional, and pick up F2 race wins in his first season, having skipped F3 entirely.

However, his F1 start hasn’t been quite so smooth. Despite taking his first podium in Canada and picking up strong points in the opening rounds, Antonelli has been fighting to make the top 10 in recent races and has been outclassed by his more experienced team-

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