Russell opens up after losing F1 title to Antonelli — SkimNews
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- George Russell said his struggles during Kimi Antonelli’s 2026 title run left him “often confused” and described the campaign as the first proper season of his career with more bad days than good.
- Kimi Antonelli secured the 2026 drivers’ title with nine wins compared with Russell’s three, after Russell had begun the season as favourite and won the opening race.
- Russell finished sixth in the Mexico City Grand Prix as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finished first and second ahead of Antonelli; Russell slipped to fourth in the championship and Verstappen moved to second.
- Russell lost power from an energy-deployment glitch off the start in Mexico, then hit Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar at Turn Six, spinning him and receiving a 10-second penalty.
- Toto Wolff excused Russell from post-race media duties after finding him distraught on the FIA scales, calling his departure understandable while noting Russell’s role in bringing Antonelli into the team.
- Mercedes produced the “best car and power-unit this season,” Russell said, crediting four years of collective work to bring the team back to the top.
- Antonelli said Russell had more bad luck than he did but insisted the Briton would return because he remains “super-quick” and “very hard to beat” when performing.
Why it matters: Antonelli’s nine wins to Russell’s three turned the 2026 title from Russell’s preseason expectation into a teammate’s coronation, leaving Russell fourth behind Verstappen after Mexico. Mercedes’ four-year revival and season-best car and power-unit nevertheless kept the team at the top, separating the championship outcome from the strength of its engineering.
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