Is George Russell losing sleep over the emergence of Kimi Antonelli?

Wednesday, 25 March 2026 at 11:07

George Russell definitely sees the 2026 Formula 1 season as his best chance to win a maiden title, especially with the dominance of his Mercedes W17, but Kimi Antonelli winning in China was not a good sign for the Briton.

Russell has been biding his time ever since he joined Mercedes in 2022, as he quietly established himself within the team, beating Lewis Hamilton during their time together before the latter left for Ferrari.

With the seven-time F1 Champion out of the way, Russell took over the team leader role, especially as his new teammate was an 18-year-old rookie.

And while that rookie made mistakes in 2025, he has been running Russell close since the start of 2026 while winning in the second race in China.

There is now doubt that Antonelli benefitted from issues that marred Russell's weekend in Shanghai, but he kept a cool head in the race, fending off the Ferraris and even his teammate to take his maiden Grand Prix win, as he will now be racing with more confidence and less pressure.

Antonelli just needed time

Former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese touched on the driver situation at Mercedes and said: "A year ago when everyone was criticizing Antonelli, saying he was too young and asking why Toto [Wolff] took him and so on.

"I said he just needed time," he added. "I have known him since he was a boy when he was karting. He is a very good friend of us, myself, the family, and I knew that he was good and he could make it.

"I was right to say that we had to wait at least one year to let him adapt to Formula 1. And now everything coming good.

"After the first two races, he's there, close to Russell, because he's very quick to learn," Patrese pointed out. "Since his karting days, he's used to having pressure; the pressure, even if it's the world championship of karting, is very high.

"He can deal with the pressure of competing in Formula 1. He is used to having pressure on his shoulders. So, he can be a contender for the World Championship.

"Russell now probably cannot sleep anymore; he'll be thinking about Kimi now," the veteran of 256 Grands Prix claimed.

"I think that this is just a start," Patrese went on. "When you win your first Grand Prix it's like a dream that comes true and you gain self-confidence that you can do it.

Antonelli lucky to be in a dominant car

"You try and try, and when you get this result, you say to yourself, 'Ah, maybe I'm not so bad; I can do it, I can repeat this.'

"And of course, he can repeat it because Mercedes has the best car that is already dominating the scene.

"From that point of view, he is a lucky boy because not everybody has the chance in only their second year to be driving such a dominant car.

"He has a really good chance of being champion this year," the 71-year-old stated despite Toto Wolff claiming it was too soon to think about that. "Russell is a strong driver too, but Kimi has a chance that not everybody has.

"He is very aware of everything that is going around him. He wants to know everything, and he was studying everything.

"You need to be like that; otherwise, if you are too nice, too gentle, it's not good, and you won't survive in F1. He has the right attitude. He's a fighter.

"If Bono [Antonelli's race engineer], who is working with him, says that he has the same strengths as Hamilton and [Michael] Schumacher, I can agree with him," Patrese concluded. (Source: Grosvenor Casinos)