David Coulthard believes George Russell needs to "start eroding" his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli's confidence in order to fight for his first drivers' championship.
Russell was tipped as a favourite for the 2026 drivers' championship title ahead of the season, but Antonelli's strong streak, which has included two grand prix wins in the first three rounds, has dented the Briton's title bid.
Antonelli's win at the Japanese Grand Prix placed him as the youngest championship leader in the history of the series, and he now has a nine-point lead over Russell.
"I think George is realising this is his opportunity and any advantage that they've had in those early races will slowly be eroded as their customer teams understand how to use their energy as Kimi grows in confidence," Coulthard said during the Up To Speed podcast.
"You don't want a really confident team-mate. You want a team-mate that's slightly thinking, 'Oh, I'm not sure I can beat him in qualifying.' Trust me, I know because I had team-mates where I would sit there looking at the lap time in qualifying thinking, 'I've got one more set of tyres. I don't think I can go any faster.'
"So, George has to now start eroding that confidence within Kimi. And he's having to do that whilst of course, [keeping] the facade of the team. Mercedes, you know, we love each other, everyone's fine, but it will come to a head.
"And as far as I'm concerned for George, he's got to get his shoulders behind that and get his elbows out sooner rather than later because Kimi is growing in confidence right now."
The drivers now have a five-week break before the Miami Grand Prix on 1-3 May due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. The unexpected break in the calendar could well give Mercedes' rivals a chance to take stock and catch up on development, placing even more pressure on Russell's shoulders.
