George Russell isn't counting out an epic comeback from Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari after the seven-time world champion collected his first win for the Scuderia in Barcelona.
"For sure (Hamilton) is a big threat," the Mercedes driver told reporters Thursday in Austria. "Ferrari are a huge threat. Kimi (Antonelli) is still very much the driver out front and is performing really incredibly and consistently. But yeah, Ferrari feel like they're coming, and Lewis is at the forefront of that."
Hamilton, who is ahead of Russell by nine points in the championship, trails Antonelli by 41 points. That deficit was 66 points entering Barcelona before Hamilton claimed victory and Antonelli retired with an issue.
"It's great to see Lewis back doing what he does best. ... People were writing him off last year or even the year we were teammates in '24," Russell said. "You know, 'Is he too old? Is he this? Is he that?' And then he goes and he's been smashing it for the last four or five races. It just shows that you don't forget how to drive overnight. You need yourself, your team, the setup, the understanding of the tires, everything just to click, and when it clicks, you fly."
Hamilton's win in Barcelona ended a run of six consecutive victories by Mercedes. Russell described it as a "reality check."
"Ferrari have clearly had a great chassis this whole season," Russell explained. "Their power unit has been a bit behind us, quite a bit behind us, but suddenly in Barcelona, they seem to have made a step forward."
Reliability issues with Mercedes' power units this season could further open the door for a Hamilton comeback. In addition to Antonelli's retirement in Barcelona, Russell's car came to a halt at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said earlier this week that the team was bringing upgrades to the Austrian GP to improve "both performance and reliability."
