Is Russell underestimating Antonelli? “It has to be more ruthless. If you let your partner get too close then…”

Surprise ranking Who would have ever imagined that three rounds into the season the world championship leader would be Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Ever since it was realized that Mercedes would clearly be the car to beat in 2026, all the spotlights were on George Russell. In his eighth season in the Circus, finally behind the wheel of the best single-seater, the Englishman seemed destined to have to take a triumphant walk towards his first world championship title of his career. Mind you, Russell still has every chance of not only winning the World Championship this year but also dominating the season; in the meantime, however, in the last two rounds – in China and Japan – the #63 of Mercedes was beaten in qualifying and in the race by his young garage partner who now leads the World Championship with a nine-point margin over him. In particular, during the Suzuka weekend, Russell seemed to start showing signs of a certain intolerance towards Antonelli’s results. Bullshit on Russell In a chat within the official Formula 1 podcast, F1 Nation, former drivers James Hinchcliffe and Jolyon Palmer commented among themselves on Russell’s performance in these first races of the year, suggesting that the former Williams standard-bearer is perhaps underestimating the danger represented by the young talent from Bologna who is driving the other silver arrow. “In racing there are always variables that you can’t control – declared Hinchcliffe – you could have two or three bad weekends in a row, perhaps through no fault of your own, and if you allowed your teammate to get too close, suddenly the power dynamics can turn in his favour.” The impression that the 39-year-old former Canadian driver has is that Russell has lost – or perhaps has not yet fully shown this year – that ‘ruthlessness’ which in his youth had led him to authoritatively win the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles: “Right from the start George has to be a little more ruthless – added Hinchcliffe, speaking to Palmer – some of those traits that we have seen in his career in the lower categories have to come out. You have to play that type of game. If you look at George’s season last year he was consistent and was good at maximizing his performance every weekend,” concluded the former IndyCar driver. Also because behind – or rather, ahead of him, at least in the standings – Antonelli doesn’t wait.