George Russell made it clear after the Canadian Grand Prix that this season's F1 drivers' title was now Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli's to lose, and the Briton has found a whole army of people who agree with him.
Antonelli secured his fourth successive grand prix victory on Sunday by taking the chequered flag in Canada, and in doing so, the 19-year-old made history in the process by becoming the first driver to claim those first four wins all back-to-back.
As for Russell, despite a strong weekend in claiming pole for the sprint and grand prix, and winning the sprint, and despite leading for the majority of the main race, a power unit issue led to him retiring after lap 30.
It means Russell is now 43 points behind Antonelli in the drivers' standings. Even though there are at least 349 points still available, should F1 reinstate either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia to the calendar later this year, circumstances permitting, he knows the uphill task he faces.
"Right now, it is his to lose, being so many points ahead," Russell told the media, including RacingNews365, following the race in Montréal. "It feels like the gods don't want me to be in this fight."
It prompted us at RacingNews365 to pose the question for a poll as to whether you agreed with Russell that Antonelli is now the clear drivers' title favourite.
Almost 56 per cent of respondents agreed that after four successive wins, Antonelli is in the box seat and this is his title to lose. In contrast, just 6.51 per cent felt Russell was still the favourite despite the early significant deficit.
The remainder, 37.74 per cent, were undecided, feeling that after just five grands prix the title picture was still too tricky to call.
Thank you, as always, to those of you who voted.
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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