George Russell has had three loud alarms, will he wake up in Montreal as Kimi Antonelli owns him

The prodigious 19-year-old Italian has emerged as the early benchmark of the 2026 season, while 28-year-old Russell endured a difficult weekend, finishing fourth and openly admitting his struggles. Which is alarming for one of his experience relative to Antonelli. 156 starts to 28 starts.

“It was a very tough race. The pace was really, really poor on my side,” Russell explaned, but despite the deficit, he insisted the wider picture remains intact, pointing to missed opportunities earlier in the season. I want to get back on to the top step of the podium.

"The first three races, I had the performance to do that, but this weekend I absolutely did not, I could be standing here now with three very different results in previous races, with this one being a bit of a one off. Obviously things worked out differently in Japan and China, but that’s Formula 1 sometimes.”

Russell also played down concerns about the growing points gap: “There’s no major cause for concern because momentum swings throughout the year,” he added.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff dismissed any suggestion of internal pressure, backing Russell and framing the Miami result as circuit specific. I’ve always said George wouldn’t be a grand prix winner if he wasn’t a killer.

“These things, he analyses them, looks at the data, comes to his conclusions. And the conclusion is that he’s never been quite at ease with the track. He never liked the smooth surface. And that’s it. Tick the box," said Wolff, but emphasised the long season ahead and rejected any narrative of shifting team dynamics.

“It’s 18 races to go. And he wants to score. I don’t think this has any relevance from his side to think about what could be at the end of the year,” added the Mercedes boss

While Lando Norris interrupted Mercedes’ winning streak in the sprint race with victory for McLaren, Antonelli’s grand prix form continues to define the championship fight, leaving Russell needing a response at the next round in Montreal.

The Englishman, expected to sppearhead the team this year, has now had three defintive alar bells ringing. Namely, Antonelli's pole to victory in all three races, despite dreadful starts that nullified all his P1 starts.

Meaning The young Italian had to graft hard to make it to the top step of the podium. And those deserving and to and even dominant wins, are three alarm bells Russell has missed. They are growing louder. Will he wake up in Montreal?