Coulthard praises Russell for admitting Antonelli is outperforming him as title slips away

David Coulthard has praised George Russell for openly acknowledging that Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli is currently outperforming him, after Antonelli’s eighth victory of the 2026 season at the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit stretched his championship lead to 81 points over Russell, who salvaged fifth place.

Russell arrived at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as one of the title favourites, winning in Melbourne and taking the subsequent sprint race in China. Since then, however, Antonelli has dominated, leaving Russell to watch the championship drift beyond his reach.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, 13-time grand prix winner Coulthard singled out Russell’s candour in media sessions as a mark of character. “We’ve got Kimi coming alive and George is on the ropes,” Coulthard said. “But in fairness to George, I think he’s come to terms with it. He’s fronting up to the media. He’s answering the questions.”

Coulthard pointed to a weekend interview Russell gave to Martin Brundle as the moment that stood out. “He said, ‘Look, Kimi is just doing a better job than me right now.’ I think that’s a big man who can admit that publicly. We would all be thinking it, but sometimes racing drivers bury their heads in the sand, and it’s just one excuse after another.”

The former McLaren and Red Bull driver drew parallels with other intra-team swings across the grid this season, noting that Lewis Hamilton has outperformed Charles Leclerc at Ferrari relative to last year, while Oscar Piastri has dropped off form compared to Lando Norris after leading the championship as recently as Baku in 2025.

“It’s swings and roundabouts of this formula,” Coulthard said, suggesting the current technical regulations have simply suited Antonelli more than Russell at this stage of the campaign.

Despite his sympathy for Russell’s position, Coulthard stopped short of writing off the British driver’s long-term prospects. “I believe in George. I feel for him. It’s a championship that’s slipping away, but he’s still young enough in his career that he’ll have his moment.”