David Croft believes “alarm bells” will begin ringing if George Russell fails to beat Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in a fourth consecutive F1 race.
Russell outperformed his teenage teammate on the Miami Grand Prix, however Antonelli continued his latest momentum within the creating title race, changing his third consecutive pole place into victory.
The victory gave sudden championship chief Antonelli a 20-point lead over Russell, who had been on the high of the drivers’ standings after the opening 4 races.
Russell completed 43 seconds behind Antonelli and Croft expects the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, which the 28-year-old Brit gained final season, to be a pivotal weekend within the title race.
“If I have been George Russell, I might need him to be in Montreal subsequent weekend,” Croft stated on the Sky Sports activities F1 Podcast.
“I do not need to wait a number of weeks interested by what occurred in Miami and interested by how large Canada is now. He gained in Miami final yr and it is a observe that he is actually good at. And Kimi bought on the rostrum, so it was an excellent weekend for Mercedes final yr.”
“But when we won’t beat Kimi at a observe that George considers one among his finest and that Toto Wolff additionally says is one among his finest, with Mercedes’ upgrades deliberate, then the alarm bells will actually begin ringing.
“There’s nonetheless a protracted solution to go within the season, however this is a crucial weekend for George Russell. He wants that dominant efficiency. However Kimi is in nice kind.”
Croft believes Antonelli has an extra weapon in his arsenal: race engineer Peter Bono Bonnington. Bonnington is the engineer who helped Lewis Hamilton win six of his seven world championships with Mercedes.
“George will not be solely competing with you, he is competing with an excellent new partnership,” Croft added.
“Bono was teaching you lap after lap. The safety that comes from the pit wall, the steering that comes from the pit wall. He has an ideal consolation blanket within the corners, a security web, a coach, a guru, no matter you need to name it.”
“Bono had a championship-winning season and the way he dealt with that stress. He is the right man for Kimi Antonelli. It isn’t only a battle between George and Kimi, it is a battle between George and the partnership. It may take some willpower.”
