F1 Insider Warns George Russell of Antonelli Threat: ‘Treat Him Like Lewis Hamilton’

With three races ticked off so far of the 2026 Formula 1 season, it appears that Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is now a significant championship threat to his teammate George Russell.

With just one year of premier class racing experience, Antonelli secured victory in two of the three races so far in China and Japan, making him the championship leader.

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Russell, on the other hand, who joined F1 in 2019 and has been with Mercedes after his early stint with Williams, was expected to lead the team with flying colors, but with Antonelli in top form, it looks like Russell may have gotten a bitter reality check after finishing in P4 last weekend at Suzuka.

The British driver won the opening round in Australia and the sprint race in China, but after that, Kimi Antonelli took over the lead. Mercedes has provided both drivers with a dominant car that clearly outperforms its rivals, but out of the two, Kimi Antonelli seems to be coming out on top.

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The 19-year-old driver started the race at Suzuka from pole position and went on to win the race, despite suffering a setback during the race start due to excessive wheelspin, dropping him several places.

Antonelli Proved His Dominance in Suzuka

Sky Sports F1‘s Natalie Pinkham, Martin Brundle, and David Croft discussed the Mercedes drivers on The F1 Show, stating that Russell will now be eager to bounce back after his P4 finish in Japan. Crofty noted that Kimi Antonelli had the advantage throughout all sessions during the race weekend in Japan. He said:

“I felt in the practice sessions that Kimi had one, two, sometimes three tenths on George. George’s problems weren’t helped by a setup direction that gave him a less-than-ideal rear end to the car. And that certainly played out in qualifying. I think it played out a bit in the race as well.

“But take that away, Kimi Antonelli, Barring his [race] start was absolutely superb in the race. And he admitted the start was his fault. He dumped the clutch a bit too much. Tires were cold, got the wheel spin to battle back from P6, at the end of the first lap to then go and win.

“Absolutely superb. And with or without the safety car, he was the fastest man on the track around the time of the safety car, and I think he would have put a lot of pressure on his teammate, and then Oscar Piastri as well.

“You know what it’s like, Martin, as a driver once you’ve got that confidence. It was almost like a fifth wheel for him. Um, it does give you an extra tenth, an extra two-tenths. And I think that’s what we saw a lot of this weekend.”

Russell Will Have to Expect The Unexpected

Former F1 driver Brundle stated that with a dominant car at hand, Russell will be concerned about the championship after Kimi Antonelli proved what he could do. He said:

“If I was George, I’d be more concerned after three races than I was at the beginning of the season. George did all those hard yards at Williams and spent an extra year or two there. Goes to Mercedes, they stopped dominating and [he] has to tolerate all that.

“Now, they look like they got a championship car, and you’d say George has got the upper hand, and all of a sudden he’s got to be looking across the garage and thinking, ‘Hang on a minute. This is nowhere near certain. I’ve got to beat this teenager yet.’”

Pinkham added that Russell was the favorite driver until now, but things seemed to have changed a bit. She said:

“George was the out-and-out favorite coming into the season and Kimi was just going to be a very convenient rear gunner. Suddenly, he looks like a threat and it’s like, hang on a minute. Wasn’t expecting that.”

Brundle added that Russell will have to look at Kimi Antonelli as a significant championship threat and treat him like how his former teammate Lewis Hamilton was during his prime in F1. He said:

“It’s difficult times for George, and he’s got to treat Kimi Antonelli just as if he’s Lewis Hamilton in his peak and a threat for the championship.”

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