Christian Fittipaldi has criticised George Russell for saying the 2026 Formula 1 title is Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s to lose.
The German marque have been the runaway leaders so far, five rounds into F1’s latest era.
And while this has effectively put Russell and Antonelli in a two-way battle, the Briton’s 19-year-old team-mate currently seems to have the legs on him.
Antonelli has been on a winning spree, having bagged four consecutive Grand Prix wins in China, Japan, Miami and Canada – leading Russell in the drivers’ standings by a whopping 43 points.
After missing out on winning the race in Montreal, owing to a battery issue on his W17, Russell had said that he feels no pressure now as the title is now for the Italian to lose.
This hasn’t gone down well with Fittipaldi, however, who believes Russell should keep his talking limited to the track.
“I have even taken a picture of one of those statements. I wanted to be sure,” he said on the Pelas Pistas podcast.
“Right now, it’s Kimi to lose. So many points ahead. I’ve got nothing to lose’.
“I personally think he’s throwing in the towel.”
George Russell urged to take the fight to Kimi Antonelli on track
Russell had evidently struggled on the smoother tarmac at the Miami International Autodrome. Going into the Canadian GP weekend, hence, the Briton was optimistic of a better outing.
In fact, up until the race on Sunday, Russell seemed to have the edge on Antonelli albeit by the slimmest of margins.
Russell won the Sprint race from the Italian – finally getting his elbows out, much to the chagrin of Antonelli, however.
The former Williams driver then clinched pole for the main race by just 0.068 seconds over his team-mate.
The 68-lap race then ended in misery for Russell who had to vacate P1 with an agonising DNF.
Fittipaldi believes that if Russell really wants to win the title this year, he needs to take the fight to him on track and not off of it.
“I think putting the pressure on him means he has to deliver on the track and just talk behind the scenes,” he added.
“There were several moments during the weekend in Canada where I thought, ‘oh, I think he’s going to give that kid a run for his money’.
“But now, with this statement, that’s not really the case. Clearly very frustrated because his car broke down, I understand that, but that statement wasn’t good.”
The duo of Russell and Antonelli now head to the Principality for the Monaco GP weekend – a circuit where neither driver has scored better than a P5 (Antonelli’s debut last season ended in P18).
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