With 66 points standing between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, the Briton opened up on the harsh realities of his Formula 1 championship title hopes.
Coming into the 2026 season, it seemed destined that Russell would find himself in the championship fight with Mercedes pace. However, much less expected was the way Antonelli dominated the first half of the season, storming into the championship lead and staying there.
Russell and Lewis Hamilton have tried to close the gap, but with 10 rounds left, the young Italian is quickly becoming unstoppable.
Russell needs luck on his side
At media day for the Spanish Grand Prix, Russell didn’t shy away from the gap between him and his young teammate; instead, he told the media, including Motorsport Week, ‘right now he’s just performing better than me.’
“I need some luck, and I need some good performances,” He said. “You know, it’s not really something I’m thinking about, because as I said, right now he’s performing better than me, so he deserves to be leading the championship; there’s still a long way to go.”
Monza was an important weekend for Russell to close the gap with Antonelli, starting on the back of the grid due to an engine change.
However, the weekend shifted as the young Italian was able to climb through the field in the race and into the lead. Instead of closing the gap, Antonelli extended his championship lead.
Russell solidified that to have a chance in the fight, he needs Antonelli to have a weekend that doesn’t go perfectly.
“He’s yet to have a bad weekend in terms of performance, so he’s performing exceptionally well; my performances are better.
“If I want to win this championship, I’m going to need some luck on the way, but it’s not something I’m focused on. I’m focused on driving faster and just finding more performance.”
A refresh over the summer break
Since the summer break, the gap between teammates has gotten smaller even though the championship gap has grown. Russell admitted to the media that he felt more comfortable and was happy with the progress he’s made, outperforming him in qualifying and taking a step closer in race pace.
“I’m working on it, and I think it’s been much improved, so I’m very pleased with that sort of step I’ve taken.”
The 2026 regulations have pushed drivers to adapt to the new cars, with many drivers relearning or changing their driving style to maximise their performances.
Russell has had to do the same himself, which he said was one of the hardest parts of making progress and staying competitive.
“Fundamentally changing the driving style, I think, is achievable for a lot of drivers, but then actually being fast with it is another topic,” he said.
“I feel my performance since the summer break has been: I’ve qualified ahead of him in the three qualifying sessions, and my race pace has been on a par with him in these two races, and I couldn’t say that pre-break.
“As I said, I’m definitely very pleased with that progression; we’ll have to see where the rest of the season takes us.”
With 10 rounds left, there’s plenty of time for the championship to change, but if Antonelli’s form continues, it’s easy to understand where Russell’s hesitancy comes from in saying the title fight is underway.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton reveals how Charles Leclerc Monza incident was ‘squashed’
Discussion about this post