By Alexandra Whyte
Mercedes driver George Russell has said teenager team-mate Kimi Antonelli should be ahead of him in the championship points and that it is only ‘fair’.
Russell finished second at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 5, after Antonelli failed to finish in the points following a front-wheel shield failure and a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Silverstone was the second race that Antonelli struggled at, after DNFing in Barcelona following an alleged power unit failure that forced the Italian driver to pull in at the side of the track.
The car failures point to wider issues at Mercedes, as Russell also retired at the Canadian Grand Prix on May 24 due to a power unit failure.
Antonelli is better
Speaking to Sky Sports, Russell said: “Based on my performances and based on his performances over the course of these nine races, I think a 25-point gap in his favour is probably correct.
“He has done a better job than me this year to this point, so he deserves to be ahead of me.”
Russell had previously claimed that Antonelli’s success was down to ‘luck’, but has admitted he is still unsure about this season’s car.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m still struggling to understand this car.
“I probably still leave this weekend, albeit extremely grateful to stand on the podium, I leave less satisfied than Canada, when I broke down from the lead.”
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Team agreement
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has agreed that Russell is struggling with the feeling of the car.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff said: “He somehow doesn’t gel with the car.
:We had a straight line speed problem [across the weekend]. And, you know, a driver sometimes needs to feel comfortable in the car, and he doesn’t.”
Mercedes still leads the Constructors’ Championship by 78 points over Ferrari, but recent performances from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are closing the gap between the top two teams.
Ferrari contention
The conversation has largely centred on Hamilton fighting for the drivers’ championship, but after Leclerc’s win at Silverstone, Ferrari may now have two drivers in contention.
Hamilton is currently third in the Drivers Championship and only seven points behind ex-teammate Russell.
Leclerc has a larger gap but is still fourth, 39 points behind his Ferrari counterpart.
However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has dismissed claims that their Silverstone success means they are in the title fight.
Speaking to the press, Vasseur said: “Championship fight is your words. We are not nowhere. We are improving step-by-step.
“But I never try to draw a conclusion after one race, two races, that it is a good result or a bad result. I am just focused on trying to do more, and being better.”
The 2026 F1 season continues at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on July 17-19.
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