Russell closes in as F1 leader Antonelli seeks response in Malaysia

SEPANG, Malaysia, Sept 30 : Formula One's championship battle takes an intriguing twist this weekend as Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell renew their rivalry at an unlikely venue, Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.

Although Sepang remains a permanent fixture on the MotoGP calendar, it has not hosted a Formula One race since 2017 after the Malaysian government said it could no longer justify the hosting costs given the declining returns.

But the Mercedes duo will now be fighting for supremacy in what has been rebranded the "Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia" after the original Bahrain race was relocated from Sakhir due to the Iran war and Middle East tensions.

Championship leader Antonelli arrives in Malaysia with a 66-point advantage over Russell after his 81-point cushion took a significant hit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he endured what he called his "worst weekend" of the season.

The Italian, who has won eight races this year and is on course to become his country's first F1 champion since Alberto Ascari 73 years ago, started 16th after a qualifying crash before salvaging fifth place.

By Antonelli's own admission, it was not the version of himself we have seen for most of the year and after the 20-year-old struggled to find his usual rhythm in Baku, he can sense his team mate looming ever larger in the rearview mirrors.

"He's always been my rival. But I'll make sure I re-establish the order, just make sure that I will be back at my usual level because (in Baku) I was driving more like my grandma, so it wasn't the usual Kimi," Antonelli said.

"In the race, I didn't have the confidence, and I just drove at 80 per cent the whole time.

"Realistically, I wasn't there mentally to be able to