Decisive for the World Championship? Mercedes ace Russell: “Difficult to understand the car”

Who would have thought this before the 2026 season? Kimi Antonelli has, for the most part, stolen the limelight from his Mercedes team-mate and title rival George Russell.

In England, too, Kimi was the faster of the two, but then the 19-year-old from Bologna had a run of bad luck: a wild ride over the kerbs, an air deflector jammed in the front suspension, and 15th place instead of a win.

George Russell has made up ground on Kimi in the last three races: second in Barcelona (Antonelli retired), winner at the Red Bull Ring (Kimi third), and second at his home race at Silverstone (the Italian classified in P15).

Russell assesses his performance following his first F1 podium at Silverstone as follows: “The car felt good, but the lap times were slow. There are things beyond my control that played a big part in that, and things within my control.”

“I’m still struggling to understand this car. Although I’m very grateful for the podium finish – I’m less satisfied than I was in Canada, when I retired whilst leading. If I really want to be in the title hunt, my performances need to improve. I need to improve.”

“I need to work better with my team. We need to maximise everything. We’re now in a close battle with Ferrari, so it’s not just about Kimi and me – Lewis Hamilton is hot on our heels.”

“Based on my performances and Kimi’s performances over the course of these nine races, my 25-point deficit is fair. He’s done a better job than me so far this year, so he deserves to be ahead of me.”

“Whether it should be 25 points, 10 points or 35 points – that’s all up for debate. I lost 15 points in Monaco alone because of the drive-through penalty.”