George Russell failed to beat his teammate on Sunday; Kimi Antonelli drove from pole position to his first victory in Formula 1 during the Chinese GP. Russell still leads the championship, but faced real resistance from his Mercedes teammate for the first time. Afterwards, he remained remarkably cool towards the media and emphasized the fierce battle with both Ferraris.
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“First of all, I have to congratulate Kimi (Antonelli, ed.),” Russell responded remarkably distantly. “It was a tough battle,” he then sighed. “We both had a bad start again, the Ferraris were super fast again.” Although Mercedes clearly has the most competitive car, the Scuderia is almost untouchable at the start. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc once again sped forward in Shanghai after the lights went out.
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Antonelli was able to defend the lead, but Russell once again had to trade places with the Italian team. Eventually, he secured second place; his younger teammate remained out of reach. “Fortunately, we were able to achieve the one-two,” the Mercedes driver concluded. Russell still leads the championship, but the gap to Antonelli is only four World Championship points after China.
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Read everything about the Chinese GP here
