Jacques Villeneuve tells ‘erratic’ Kimi Antonelli he’s trying too hard in battle with George Russell

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Jacques Villeneuve thinks Andrea Kimi Antonelli must find a way to improve his pace without trying so hard if he is to truly challenge Mercedes teammate George Russell.

The Silver Arrows continued their perfect start to the 2026 F1 season with another one-two during Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix this Friday. But Villeneuve was not overly impressed by Antonelli, who finished SQ3 with a 0.289s deficit to Russell in the timesheets.

Russell scored pole for the Sprint in China with a 1:31.520 lap of the Shanghai International Circuit, while Antonelli recorded a 1:31.809. Mercedes enjoyed a significant advantage over the rest of the field once again, with McLaren’s Lando Norris also 0.332s adrift of Antonelli.

Mercedes star Russell has now scored the first two poles of the season, after he also set the pace by 0.293s ahead of Antonelli during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The Briton and Italian ultimately also secured a one-two finish at Albert Park to top the early standings.

Mercedes boast a 0.621s lead over McLaren atop the SQ3 timesheets after Sprint Qualifying in China

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Jacques Villeneuve thinks Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s ‘aggressive’ driving style is costing him

Villeneuve believes Sprint Qualifying at the 2026 Chinese GP has now shown that Antonelli’s priority task if he is to truly challenge Russell for the F1 drivers’ championship this year is to find a way to improve his lap times, without having to push as hard as he currently requires.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Chinese GP, with F1 Sprint and Grand Prix start times

The 1997 F1 champion also notes that Antonelli seemed “erratic” on track during his rookie season in 2025, which cost him lap time and will continue to without him changing his style in 2026. Villeneuve feels Antonelli is still a bit too aggressive trying to match Russell’s speed.

Villeneuve said on Sky Sports F1 (13/03, 08:30): “Right now? To manage to get to the same speed as George without having to push as hard as he is. Because, right now, he has to push harder to get close. So, he is lacking a little bit.

“But you’ve seen it last year. His driving was more erratic, more aggressive [and he needed] more steering input, and that always eats up a few tenths.”

Jamie Chadwick thinks Mercedes are ‘fortunate’ that ‘raw’ Kimi Antonelli is not costing them more

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick “completely” agrees with Villeneuve’s claim, as she likewise thinks Antonelli often struggles to extract the maximum lap time that Russell can find. Chadwick even feels Mercedes are “fortunate” that no rival can take advantage yet.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Reigning F1 champion Norris was the best of the rest during Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese GP on Friday. But the McLaren star was 0.332s slower than Antonelli and 0.621s slower than Russell. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in P4 was also 0.352s slower than Antonelli’s best SQ3 lap.

Chadwick added: “[I] completely agree. I think it just feels a little bit harder to find the lap time for Kimi. It’s there. He has so much raw speed, and when he does push and he does find it, it comes, but just always in the sort of wrong places and not quite fully put together.

“But we saw in Melbourne when he needed to and the pressure was on, he delivered. He’s a bit fortunate that none of the other teams are challenging them too much at the moment, because three-tenths? Easily could have had two or three other cars in there.

“But still, he’s going to learn from one of the best on a Saturday, which is George. And I think that’s going to make him strong later in the year.”