David Croft raises George Russell concern amid Kimi Antonelli title fight

David Croft argues George Russell must adapt his driving style and produce a “Russell 2.0” if he is to challenge team-mate Kimi Antonelli

Sky Sports Formula 1 lead commentator David Croft has argued that George Russell must bring "Russell 2.0" to challenge his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli for the championship title.

Russell secured his first victory since the Australian Grand Prix by winning last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. The Briton capitalised on his experience during a single-yellow flag period in qualifying to secure pole position, before converting it into the race victory.

However, Russell admitted over the Spielberg weekend that the current Mercedes cars do not naturally suit his driving style. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Croft revealed his concerns for the 28-year-old.

"The one thing that does concern me about George's season is the fact that coming into the race in Austria, he was talking about these cars not suiting his style of driving," Croft said.

"Now, we've heard that before. Oscar Piastri, for instance, said that last year towards the back end of the season. Is that a driver coming up with excuses or realising that actually, 'No, I'm not in the best place because last year's regulations suited me a lot better, and these cars probably suit my team-mate a lot better.'

"And if that is the case, then George is going to have to reinvent George, and we're going to have to see Russell 2.0 to have that championship challenge."

Russell qualified fourth for the upcoming British Grand Prix at Silverstone, while his team-mate Antonelli secured pole position.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

"Today hasn’t been straightforward on my side," Russell explained in a Mercedes debrief. "The balance of the car has been reasonably strong and I’ve felt comfortable, but we’ve been struggling with our straightline speed.

"In the sprint, therefore, we ended up in a battle with the McLarens, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. We were able to fight our way to P4, but our pace was probably strong enough to have been in the top three and chasing Lewis [Hamilton] and Kimi [Antonelli].

"I had a small off in Q1 in qualifying, but we recovered and were in the fight for pole. On my final run, though, I caught some traffic on my out-lap and didn’t quite get the tyres in the right window.

"That meant that my push lap was compromised from the start and we had to settle for P4. That was frustrating but we know that we can move forward tomorrow. We will be doing everything we can to do so and get in the mix at the very front."