Antonelli rejected Russell’s reasoning. “I don’t really give weight to that line,” he said, “because it’s still so early in the season. I continue trying to excel, trying to maximise the car and see where we end up at the end of the season.
“It’s difficult to think you can lose something when you don’t have the championship. How can I lose it when I didn’t win it yet?”
Russell, 28, has bemoaned a series of events going against him – including technical issues in qualifying in China, a safety-car intervention in Japan that handed the lead to Antonelli and the Canada problems – but says he has no reason to feel he cannot bounce back.
“I don’t feel like I need to get every single result possible, because the season’s long enough that over the course of the season, it will swing if you’re the guy who’s on top.
“So I just need to continue being the guy who’s coming out on top, even if he’s the one at the moment who’s getting the results.”
Russell said that his retirement in Canada “hurts” but added: “That’s just the way racing goes.”
And he pointed to his own junior career as a reason to stay positive.
“In Formula 2 (in 2018), I had, I think, five failures over the course of a year,” he said.
“I came to Monaco, never been to Monaco before, and I broke down on the out lap in practice. And then went into qualifying, 15-minute session, four laps, and didn’t qualify anywhere decent.
“I broke down on other occasions. The engine stalled, but then still went on over the course of a year to win the championship.
“So I take inspiration from those moments. And I think for everyone every year, you have a run of races where, I don’t know why or how, everything just goes your way.
“And that’s just how it goes sometimes when things turn. It’s just a mentality I’ve got. I’m in a very good head space. The pressure feels off now. And there’s just a huge amount of time to go.”
Antonelli, who is in only his second season in F1, added: “I don’t feel that much pressure. I feel pretty relaxed. I just keep doing what I’m doing, trying to raise the bar.
“George is a super-strong team-mate and he will make my life difficult.”