Nigel Mansell urges George Russell to ‘stamp his authority’ after Kimi Antonelli charge

1992 Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell has urged George Russell to "stamp the authority" within Mercedes after his team-mate Kimi Antonelli took the lead of the drivers' standings. 

Russell had a commanding start to the season, winning the Australian Grand Prix and Chinese sprint race. But after two troublesome grands prix in China and Japan, and two wins for his team-mate, the Italian driver has now become the youngest championship leader in the history of the series.

"George is a great driver," Mansell told Sky Sports F1. "Sometimes it's how the chips fall, sometimes you have a bit of luck, and sometimes you don't. It's a long season, but you've got to lead by incredible focus."

Mansell drew on his own experience battling against his Williams team-mate Riccardo Patrese in 1992, detailing how he temporarily swapped cars with the Italian driver after he had accused Williams of providing Mansell with a "special car".

"I'll never forget [my team-mate] Riccardo Patrese in 1992 thought I had a special car," he continued.

"We swapped qualifying cars at Sao Paulo early in the season and I got Sir Frank [Williams] and Patrick [Head] to agree with that because I was two seconds a lap quicker than him. Long story short, the first and second lap, I went out in his car, I was 1.5 seconds quicker, straight away in his car."

Nigel Mansell

Photo by: Getty Images

Mansell ultimately claimed the 1992 drivers' championship with 108 points and Patrese followed in second with 56 points. 

"The point is, you have to stamp the authority. Kimi has done a great job. He's young. Everyone's pulling for him, so it's going to be exciting to watch," Mansell concluded.

The F1 teams will make their way to the United States shortly for the Miami Grand Prix, which will take place from 1-3 May.