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Andrea Kimi Antonelli has set his sights on fighting for the 2026 F1 drivers’ title after a positive test in Barcelona, and he hopes it is a Mercedes affair against George Russell.
The Brackley outfit enjoyed a positive start to the 2026 F1 season at the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. No team penned more laps than Mercedes, who even saw two of their engine customers in Alpine and McLaren help prove their latest power unit.
Mercedes’ 2026 regulations engine has widely been predicted to be the best, as F1 has now increased the electrical share of the power from a 20/80 share in favour of the ICE to almost 50/50. F1 has also dropped the expensive MGU-H and moved to advanced sustainable fuels.
The 2026 F1 regulations mark the biggest regulatory overhaul in history, as the changes also yielded new aero, chassis and tyre rules. Russell felt the 2026 F1 cars are lighter and smaller instantly during the Barcelona shakedown, where Mercedes already began to study set-ups.
Toto Wolff believes Kimi Antonelli can become an F1 champion. Is he wrong?
Andrea Kimi Antonelli thinks George Russell is one of the ‘benchmark’ F1 drivers in 2026
Many predict that Mercedes will return to fighting for the F1 drivers’ championship in 2026 due largely to their engine. The Silver Arrows have not fought for a title since 2021, as they never managed to fully optimise the ground-effect rules that F1 used from 2022 to 2025.
READ MORE: The best moments of George Russell’s career in Formula 1
Antonelli hopes that everything he learnt during his rookie season at Mercedes in 2025 also lets him target a title tilt. But while the 19-year-old would like it to be an all-Mercedes affair, he knows it will be “difficult” to battle Russell as the 27-year-old is a “very complete” driver.
Antonelli told Sky Italy: “He is a very tough opponent, extremely strong and the benchmark driver on the grid. But it would be really great to be able to compete for the world championship and also race against him several times during the year.
“But, obviously, it will be difficult because he is very strong. He is a very complete driver. But I must say that I also feel much more prepared for this season. Last year, I had my good moments and my bad moments, but I learned a lot from the bad moments in particular.
“So, in that respect, I feel much more prepared for 2026. I know much more about what to expect, and I will also have better management of the whole year, but also of the weekends. So, I can’t wait to get started in Melbourne.”
George Russell produced the best season of his F1 career in Kimi Antonelli’s rookie season
Russell produced the best season of his F1 career so far in 2025, as he also stepped into the role of Mercedes’ team leader after Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari and Antonelli debuted as a rookie. The Briton took 319 of Mercedes’ 469 points for P4 in the 2025 drivers’ standings.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli
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The King’s Lynn native also set a personal single-season best with nine Grand Prix podiums, along with scoring two wins and taking two pole positions. Russell won the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix from pole and the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix from pole for Mercedes’ only wins.
Antonelli took his first F1 podium with P3 in the 2025 Canadian GP, and he later added P2 in the Sao Paulo GP and P3 in the Las Vegas GP to his tally. But despite Antonelli becoming the youngest polesitter in F1 history for the Miami Sprint, his rookie season also had some lows.
Most notably, Antonelli only scored points once between rounds seven to 13 with his P3 in Montreal, having lost confidence after Mercedes introduced a rear suspension upgrade. He also took Red Bull racer Max Verstappen out on lap one of the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.
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