'Really hard to judge' – Antonelli addresses 25-point gap to Russell ahead of Belgian Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli believes "it's really hard to judge" whether a 25-point gap over Mercedes team mate George Russell is a fair margin in their title battle, as both drivers have suffered with reliability issues this season.

Antonelli looked set to fight for his sixth win of the season in the British Grand Prix last time out, with the Italian teenager quickly closing on race leader, and eventual winner, Charles Leclerc.

But a problem with his front-left wheel shield meant it became detached, requiring two unscheduled pit stops, while a five-second penalty for track limits while dealing with the issue dropped him outside the points.

Second place for Russell means the gap between the pair in the Drivers' standings now sits at only 25 points ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.

On Thursday's media day at Spa, Antonelli was asked to reply to a comment made by Russell, who had suggested "a 25-point gap in his favour is probably correct" – based on their performances from the first nine race weekends of the year.

"It's really hard to judge because yes he's had bad luck for sure," said Antonelli, who took five race wins in succession earlier this term.

"Montreal was one of them. Of course, we wouldn't have known how the race would have ended, because we were both neck and neck. He was very unlucky because at that point, he was leading before he stopped. For sure there were a couple of other times that he was a bit unlucky.

"In my case, we were going towards a result that was almost certain, Barcelona was P2. Silverstone we cannot know because I didn't have a shot, but I think it would have been a fight for it [the victory]. We know those for sure would have been certain points.

"I have to say, both of us had bad luck and one of us had it at more critical moments at times, but it's the way it is, this is how motorsport goes. We can see ourselves how this can shift very quickly."

With Russell's retirement from the lead in Montreal and Antonelli losing second place in Barcelona, as well as suffering his Silverstone problems, Mercedes have dropped a large haul of points in the Teams' standings.

The Silver Arrows sit only 78 points ahead of Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton trails Antonelli by 32 points.

Antonelli admits that the German manufacturer needs to get on top of their reliability problems despite having arguably the quickest package on the grid.

"As a team, definitely reliability has not been our strongest point," he said.

"We've realised ourselves that it's something we need to keep working on. Ferrari seem very strong on that side. We just need to make sure, and I know the team is working super hard to make sure these things don't happen."