Russell insists 68-point deficit to Antonelli won't derail his 2026 title bid

George Russell has refused to concede the 2026 Formula 1 world championship to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, insisting the 68-point gap between them is far from insurmountable with 16 rounds still to run.

Antonelli, 19, has won five consecutive grands prix and leads a championship that Russell entered as the heavy pre-season favourite. Russell’s only victory came at the Melbourne opener, and he has failed to score points in two of the last four races, slipping to third in the standings — two points behind Lewis Hamilton.

“No, it’s not [too great],” Russell said when asked whether Antonelli’s advantage was already decisive. “You look at Verstappen last year — but I need to get myself out. I don’t know how we keep ending up in the same position. Things I need to improve for sure. But I know on clean weekends what I can do and it’s just unfortunate. I still very much believe in myself and know what I can do. I think we’re not even 30% of the way through, but there’s a lot of points down the drain.”

Russell pointed to last season’s title race as evidence that large deficits can be overturned. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both trailed Oscar Piastri by 104 and 34 points respectively with nine rounds remaining, yet Norris ultimately pipped Verstappen to the crown on the final day.

His run of misfortune began in Shanghai, where a Q3 mechanical problem denied him a shot at pole. Antonelli won from the front in Suzuka too, benefiting from a timely safety car, before dominating in Miami where Russell struggled with low-grip conditions. In Canada, Russell was leading when an engine failure forced him to retire. Monaco compounded matters further: a poor qualifying left him fighting for damage limitation, and a drive-through penalty for incorrectly serving a five-second pitlane speeding sanction dropped him out of the points entirely, finishing sixth.

“I’ve never had a run of bad luck like this,” Russell said. “I’ve had very low moments in my career where I’ve maybe had a run of two or three bad races on my own personal performance. It didn’t happen when the car was a P7 car two years ago.”

The sequence represents a stark contrast to what was arguably Russell’s strongest campaign to date in 2025. With six rounds complete and the championship far from settled, the 28-year-old remains adamant that his title hopes are alive.