Mercedes see ‘important’ reasons why George Russell is losing to Kimi Antonelli in F1 title fight

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Mercedes privately feel it is wrong to already question George Russell’s 2026 F1 title hopes, as teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli has benefitted from his early misfortune.

Russell entered the 2026 F1 season as the title favourite for many in the paddock, including among some of his fellow drivers. Yet despite the Briton starting the year strongly with wins from pole in the Australian Grand Prix and Sprint in Shanghai, Antonelli has since taken over.

Antonelli is now the only person in F1 history to secure their first three Grand Prix wins from their first three pole positions in a row. The Italian even now boasts a 20-point lead in the F1 drivers’ standings over Russell thanks to his Grand Prix victories in China, Japan and Miami.

If Kimi Antonelli wins the title, how much would it damage George Russell’s reputation?

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Mercedes still believe George Russell can rival Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the 2026 F1 title

Russell especially had a torrid time at Hard Rock Stadium last time out, as he finished fourth in the F1 Sprint and the Miami GP – which Antonelli won, 43.051 seconds up the road. Now, Bernie Ecclestone is already ruling Russell out of the 2026 F1 title race after just four rounds.

READ MORE: The best moments of George Russell’s career in Formula 1

But within Mercedes, there is still a strong belief that Russell can rival Antonelli as they both look to win the F1 title for the first time. That is according to Motorsport.com, which reports that within the team Mercedes see ‘several important nuances’ behind Russell’s recent woe.

Firstly, Mercedes look back to Russell’s misfortune as Antonelli took pole for the Chinese GP in March. The Silver Arrows had to repair Russell’s front wing in between Q2 and Q3, before the 28-year-old suffered a battery issue that risked leaving him stranded without a lap in Q3.

Antonelli also built too big a lead for Russell to fight once he cleared the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the Chinese GP. Russell could have also won in Japan were it not for the safety car to recover Oliver Bearman’s Haas, as it gave Antonelli a free pit stop.

Mercedes had just pitted Russell at the end of Lap 21 of 53 in the Japanese GP to try to fight McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the lead, which left Antonelli in P1 before the safety car was then needed. Then came the Miami GP, which Russell admits is far from his favourite race all year.

“I just struggle on these low-grip circuits, so here [in Miami], Zandvoort [and] Brazil,” Russell told Sky Sports after qualifying. “It was the same last year.

“It’s something I want to work on. But there are three tracks out of the 24 that are outliers, and Miami is definitely top of that list. I’m quite a smooth, precise driver. That’s always been my style. On these tracks, you have to be happy with the car just sliding.”

Mercedes, therefore, expect to see Russell revive his F1 title challenge when the season rolls into Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix on May 22-24. Russell has scored pole for the last two races at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, and he converted pole into the victory last season.

The Silver Arrows are seemingly not alone in expecting to see a response from Russell next time out in Montreal, as well. Juan Pablo Montoya has claimed “everyone” expects Russell to beat Antonelli in Canada, with the high-speed circuit far more in tune with his approach.