George Russell Says Antonelli’s 2026 F1 Title Win Is Tough to Handle

What changed

George Russell says Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s 2026 title win has been “tough to deal with” after a season in which Russell struggled and was “often confused” by his form. Antonelli won nine races to Russell’s three, while Russell finished sixth in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix and fell to fourth in the championship.

Why it matters

This was not just a missed title. Russell began the season as the favourite and won the opening race, then watched Antonelli build momentum while his own campaign unravelled through poor performances and bad luck.

Mexico City captured the problem neatly. A start-line energy-deployment glitch left Russell short of power, and a later collision with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar brought a 10-second penalty. He finished sixth, slipped behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the standings, and was close to tears afterwards.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff let Russell skip his post-race media duties. Russell had still gone to congratulate Antonelli, who said his team-mate remained “super-quick” and would come back.

Russell’s next challenge is simple to describe and difficult to deliver: recover the performance he believes he has shown for most of his career, starting with the rest of this season and carrying into 2027. Whether that happens, or Mercedes can avoid another campaign shaped by reliability, execution and performance problems, remains open.