Russell backed to end Antonelli's winning run at Monaco Grand Prix

George Russell has been backed to outperform championship-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the Monaco Grand Prix on 5-7 June, with former Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton arguing the street circuit plays to the Briton’s strengths.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton pointed to Mercedes’ overall pace advantage and Russell’s precision as reasons to favour him around the barriers of Monte Carlo. “Mercedes has such an advantage anyway. It feels like it’s going to be their weekend. And we talk about needing finesse, accuracy and consistency, I feel this is a George weekend,” he said.

Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese sprint race, but Antonelli has since dominated the 2026 campaign. The 19-year-old became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to lead the drivers’ championship after back-to-back victories in China and Japan, and has added further wins in Miami and Canada to extend his advantage.

Buxton also suggested that Russell’s post-Canada comments — in which the Mercedes driver said the pressure was off him — were a deliberate attempt to shift the psychological burden onto his younger team-mate. “I think that in and of itself is a little mind gamey,” Buxton said. “Trying to put the pressure on Kimi, trying to take it off himself. But whether he can drive with that freedom remains to be seen.”

On Antonelli’s suitability for Monaco specifically, Buxton acknowledged that the teenager’s instinctive, attacking style could be both an asset and a liability on one of the calendar’s least forgiving circuits. “Kimi, we love how he races. We love his youthful exuberance and the extremities that he can go to, and that can look a little wild. So whether he can tame that around Monaco’s streets will be fascinating to see.”

Buxton drew a parallel with Max Verstappen, who was considered an aggressive, unpredictable driver before eventually mastering Monaco — though not without suffering significant accidents there first. Whether Antonelli can navigate that learning curve at such an early stage of his career is one of the key storylines heading into the weekend.

The Monaco Grand Prix runs from 5-7 June, with the race on Sunday marking the start of the European leg of the 2026 season.