George Russell has been told to treat Kimi Antonelli as though he is going up against “Lewis Hamilton in his peak” after the teenager’s impressive start to the new season. Russell was the pre-season title favourite and lived up to the billing with victory in Melbourne, but back-to-back wins for Antonelli have seen the 19-year-old take a surprise early lead in the championship.

The Italian has undoubtedly been helped by some of the misfortune which has befallen his more experienced team-mate. Russell suffered an engine problem in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix which left him hampered in the push for pole, while setup issues compromised him on Saturday at Suzuka before the timing of the safety car in the race gifted Antonelli with another chance to win.

Crucially, though, the teenager has held his nerve on both occasions to take full advantage. Some are starting to consider Antonelli as a potential contender in the title race as a result and Martin Brundle feels Russell needs to take his teenaged team-mate very seriously over the coming weeks and months.

The Sky Sports favourite said: “If I was George, I’d be more concerned after three races than I was at the beginning of the season. George did all those hard yards at Williams and spent an extra year or two there, goes to Mercedes just as they stop dominating and had to tolerate all that.

“Now they look like they’ve got a championship car and you’d say George has got the upper hand. And all of a sudden, he’s got to be looking across the garage and thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, this is nowhere near certain. I’ve got to beat this teenager.’ And I think he really has to.

“George is frustrated and he’s lost his head a little bit. He had that race under control. I think he would have got past Piastri later on. All in all, he needs a reset on that. But he goes to Miami, nine points behind his team-mate. It’s difficult times for George, and he’s got to treat Kimi Antonelli just as if he’s Lewis Hamilton in his peak, and a threat for the championship.”

Russell was indeed frustrated after the Suzuka race, lamenting as he spoke to reporters that “every issue we’re having is on my side [of the garage]”. But Brundle does not believe that any of it takes away from what Antonelli has achieve in the early weeks of the season, even if he still does think the Brit should be the obvious favourite for glory. He added: “I think he’s looked the real deal.

“I remember watching after China when Kimi’s dad and Toto [Wolff] were saying, ‘Look, forget the championship crusade, because he’s got a lot to learn, and he will make mistakes’. I thought that tallied exactly with what I was thinking. George is the favourite because there will be wet days and safety car restarts and all sorts of things where George’s experience will surely play out.”