Russell admits performances must improve after Antonelli outpaces him in first nine races

George Russell has acknowledged that his performances must improve if he is to mount a serious 2026 Formula 1 championship challenge, after team-mate Kimi Antonelli dominated the opening phase of the season despite a run of mechanical misfortune.

Russell trails the 19-year-old by 25 points heading into the second half of the campaign, a gap that had ballooned to 68 points after round six in Monaco before a series of reliability failures hit Antonelli. The Italian won five of the opening nine races compared to just two for the Briton, who himself suffered a Q3 mechanical failure in Shanghai, an untimely safety car in Japan, and an engine failure while leading in Montreal.

Fortune has since swung the other way. A power unit issue cost Antonelli second place in Barcelona, and a broken wheel shield dropped him out of the points at Silverstone on Sunday, where a late safety car following Max Verstappen’s crash handed Russell second place and his first British Grand Prix podium.

Yet Russell was candid in his post-race assessment, refusing to take comfort from the swing in points. “The feeling was good but the lap times were slow,” he said of his Silverstone pace. “There were things outside of my control that contributed a lot towards that and things in my control.”

He went further, admitting he is still struggling to extract the best from Mercedes’ 2026 car. “I’m still struggling to understand this car. I’d probably still leave this weekend, albeit extremely grateful to stand on the podium, less satisfied than probably Canada when I broke down from the lead.”

Russell was direct about what needs to change. “If I want to fight for the championship, the performances need to be better. I need to be better. I need to be working better with my team. We need to be maximising everything. We’ve got a close fight now with Ferrari so it’s not just Kimi and I. Lewis [Hamilton] is still very close — it needs to be improved.”

The 28-year-old had previously cited bad luck as a factor in his deficit, and acknowledged in Monaco that Antonelli had adapted to the new regulations more effectively. After Silverstone, he said he was “not sure” whether the luck between the pair had now balanced out, but accepted that the championship standings accurately reflect their respective performances across the nine rounds so far.