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Gabriel Bortoleto is not surprised by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s results so far in 2026, but how the Italian is now “imposing” himself on George Russell at Mercedes is striking.
Bortoleto had an early look at the superstar talent that Antonelli possesses during their one season as rivals in the 2024 Formula 2 season. Both drivers then made the move up to F1 in 2025, as Bortoleto debuted for Sauber and Antonelli replaced Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes.
But while Bortoleto is still scrapping for points most weeks in his team’s first season as Audi, Antonelli is fighting to win the F1 drivers’ championship. The 19-year-old tops the standings after the first nine rounds, with a 25-point lead over Russell and a 32-point gap to Hamilton.
Antonelli has also become the first driver in F1 history to take their first five Grand Prix wins in successive races and he is the first driver to get their first three wins from their first three pole positions. But the Bologna boy’s 25-point lead could arguably have been even greater.
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Gabriel Bortoleto is impressed by how Kimi Antonelli is ‘imposing’ himself on George Russell
Antonelli retired from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix owing to an issue with his battery, having had a different failure to the issue that made Russell retire in Canada. Also, Antonelli finished P15 in the British GP, after receiving a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits due to him no longer being able to turn at high speed after his front left wheel shield broke.
READ MORE: The best moments of Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s F1 career
Despite the setback at Silverstone, Antonelli leads Russell 5-4 for Grand Prix results and 5-4 for qualifying results so far this term. His record is in stark contrast to his first head-to-head with Russell last season, when the 28-year-old Briton beat the Italian 21-3 in each category.
Antonelli had also only scored 150 points to Russell’s 319 last year, but leads him 179 to 154 in 2026. Bortoleto admits that he is surprised that Antonelli has turned the tables on Russell to such a large extent at Mercedes, despite not being surprised by the Bologna boy’s results.
“I wouldn’t say so. He’s doing a great job,” Bortoleto told Automoto.it. He continued: “Kimi is imposing himself on a very strong teammate. He’s doing his job, but that was not a given, given the pressure on him.”
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Antonelli arrived in F2 at the same time as Bortoleto in 2024 with a lot of expectations, after Mercedes backed him to go straight into F1’s premier feeder series after securing Italian and German F4 titles in 2022 and also Formula Regional European and Middle East titles in 2023.
F2 was not as straightforward, as Antonelli only ranked sixth while Bortoleto won the title as a rookie. But Mercedes still believed it was time to usher Antonelli into F1 in 2025 after they lost Hamilton to Ferrari, and the Silver Arrows are now reaping the rewards from doing so.
Antonelli learned a lot from his challenging rookie F1 season, as Russell took over the role of team leader with aplomb. F1’s 2026 regulations have also yielded a car with which Antonelli feels comfortable pushing, while Russell has not yet gelled with the Mercedes W17 as easily.
While Antonelli feels comfortable with how Mercedes’ car often slides under braking due to F1’s 2026 regulations, Russell stated at Silverstone that he is “struggling to understand” the W17. Russell has also previously pointed to warming the tyres as to why he is not as happy.
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