George Russell has been named an “underdog” for this year’s championship but has also been warned of young Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

The Mercedes driver is 47 points off Championship leader Oscar Piastri but former driver Johnny Herbert believes he is still a contender.

George Russell named surprise ‘underdog’ contender for F1 title

Despite an underwhelming race in Imola, Russell has been one of the most consistent performers having finished within the top five in all but one grand prix this season.

It is that consistency that makes Herbert believe he could be a championship contender.

“George Russell could be an underdog for the championship,” Herbert told Fruity King. “He’ll need a bit of luck. The consistency that he’s got has been, I think, very impressive. And he’s got that hard edge. He’s had it from very early on in his career. He has always been very, very confident. And I think we’re seeing the confidence in the cockpit.

“But he’s always got to keep an eye out for his team-mate, because I think George is beginning to be aware of Kimi Antonelli. He needs to make sure that he is the one the team is going to be supporting. You’ve always got to be the one that everybody will trust. And they trust George because he’s delivering very consistently.”

On Antonelli, Herbert said we are starting to see “little signs” that the Italian is getting more confident.

“George Russell is doing really well at the moment, he’s probably in more control generally from the races that we’ve seen so far. But we’re just starting to see those little signs where Kimi is just getting more confident within the car and then he’s producing those races that he’s doing at the moment.

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“He comes across as a very nice gentleman on the track; maybe that hardness is going to have to come into play. I’m sure he’s got it in a race-craft situation. But this is the level you’ve got to jump to when you’re up against the likes of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

“The only thing he’s missing is that little bit more of a hardness. But that will come.”

Antonelli struggled in his home race, admitting the support distracted him, before retiring with a throttle issue.

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