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Following a disastrous Belgian Grand Prix for George Russell, Sky Sports Formula 1 lead commentator David Croft has firmly dismissed suggestions that the British driver could consider leaving Mercedes.
Russell endured another difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. After he suffered electrical power deployment issues off the line, Russell's race was cut short following a collision with his former team-mate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
To make matters worse for the 28-year-old, his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli secured his sixth grand prix victory of the season. As a result, the Italian driver now leads the standings by 45 points over Hamilton, and Russell has slipped to third, 50 points behind Antonelli.
During the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Show, Craig Slater raised the question of whether the mounting frustration and growing points deficit to Antonelli could affect Russell's long-term future with the Brackley outfit.
"He will still want to be at the team that delivers him the best power unit and chassis package to go and compete for a world championship, and who's to say that won't be Mercedes?" Croft responded.
"He's intimated he's there for the long term. He's not ever talked about wanting to leave Mercedes and I don't think the result at Spa is going to change his mind one bit on that one."
Croft added that Russell has the "talent and the ability" to turn his season around.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
"But it is worth saying what a difference a year makes. You go back to Belgium last year, Kimi Antonelli started from the pitlane, finished 16th, had a bit of a horror in the middle of what was a very difficult run for him during which he was struggling," he added.
"He was struggling big time, but he came back after the summer break, and while Zandvoort wasn't particularly superb for him, he picked himself up and produced quite a run. Baku finished fourth, Singapore finished fifth, Mexico top six, Brazil on the podium, Las Vegas on the podium, Qatar finished fifth.
"He showed that you can overcome these sorts of moments. And who's to say George Russell can't do that? I mean, it's a knockout blow, as we said, but he has the talent and the ability. It's what he's got up here [in his head] that will dictate whether he's going to show that in future races, and I think he can. I really do."
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