(Motorsport-Total.com) – Kimi Antonelli is currently leading the Formula 1 World Championship, but due to his experience, many in the paddock still see George Russell as the favorite for this year’s title. Could this, given the rapid development of his teammate, also be the year Russell must seize his chance?
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Since the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix will not take place in April after all, let’s turn back the clock briefly to another crisis period when the country in the Gulf region was able to host two races.
For one of these two – the Sakhir Grand Prix – a young George Russell was asked to step in as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, who had tested positive for COVID.
Sergio Perez ultimately won this eventful race and thereby secured, as Helmut Marko later revealed, his Red Bull seat for the following year.
The Austrian explained that Red Bull had previously also considered drivers like Nico Hülkenberg, but after his win in the desert, Perez could no longer be ignored – aside from the commercial aspect, which was naturally also appealing.
Russell should have taken his first Formula 1 victory that day if it weren’t for an unfortunate pit stop and a late tire failure that robbed him of the chance to win.
The disappointment was understandably immense, but Russell’s performance underscored something he had already shown during an impressive debut season at Williams: that he would be a man for the future within the Mercedes family.
Afterwards, his patience was especially put to the test. When the promotion to the Brackley team finally happened, Mercedes faced difficult years in the ground-effect era – a regulation that the team, as Toto Wolff openly admitted, never fully got under control.
Russell himself admitted at the end of last year that at that point in his career, he had expected to fight for the world championship at least once, even if the reasons for missing that chance were beyond his control.
Almost six years after his first appearance for Mercedes in the top class, his time now finally seems to have come. The situation today is completely different in every respect than during that one-off appearance for the team.
What began as a one-off replacement for Hamilton due to a positive COVID test has developed into a situation where Russell must step into Hamilton’s shoes as team leader. From the “new kid on the block,” he himself has become the experienced point of reference, now with another young talent, a raw diamond, by his side.
Antonelli learns quickly, but difficult moments are inevitable
This young talent has shown more than mature performances at the past two race weekends and even leads the championship. Nevertheless, Wolff had a clear message after Antonelli’s first win in China, which he even formulated in Italian during his media round after the race: piede per terra – keep both feet on the ground.
The motorsport chief said this to prevent too much hype in Antonelli’s home country and the immense pressure that comes with it.
“You can guess what hype will start now, especially in Italy. I already see the headlines: World Champion, Grande Kimi and whatever else. And that’s really not good because mistakes will come,” said Wolff. “He is still a kid, so it is way too early to even think about a world championship.”
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Although this last remark may have been a bit too drastic – because who doesn’t think about the world championship when you are one of only two drivers in the best car on the grid? But aside from that, Wolff has a point. About Antonelli’s debut year, he said that the team management sometimes watched his talent with deep admiration, but at other times tore their hair out.
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And exactly that will not disappear within a single year. It is the natural development of every Formula 1 driver, which usually takes several seasons. That was the case with Max Verstappen and also with Russell. Last year, he reached a new level of consistency that was not present before.
Antonelli will go through a similar process, which does not necessarily have to consist of accidents or rookie mistakes, but also minimizing weaker weekends in terms of pure speed.
Due to experience, it is logical to still call Russell the clear favorite – which bookmakers continue to do – but the first race weekends have shown one thing: Antonelli’s development is progressing quickly, perhaps even faster than some expected. And for this very reason, this could be the year Russell must deliver.
The parallels to Norris’ title season
In a way, parallels can be drawn between Russell’s current situation and Lando Norris’ last year during his title season. In both cases, the British driver was the more experienced in the team and the one who had been there the longest, with a young talent by his side who learns quickly.
And in both cases, there is hardly any doubt in the paddock that Piastri and Antonelli will become even better than they already are. The key is to use the additional experience and make the difference through consistency.
Russell showed this consistency last year and now has to try to reproduce it when the pressure of a title fight comes into play. Norris made the difference in the second half of 2025 also through more consistent performances than his teammate.
This was overshadowed by Verstappen’s remarkable comeback, but Norris showed strong form after his technical failure in Zandvoort – especially compared to Piastri, who struggled more under the low-grip conditions in Austin and Mexico.
As Andrea Stella rightly noted, it is likely that Piastri has learned from these experiences and will perform better this year under similar circumstances – although the regulations are completely different.
The same applies to Antonelli: as Wolff explained, the young Italian learns quickly and is on a steep learning curve. It is up to Russell to strike while the iron is hot. The best opportunity for this is probably this season – also because Mercedes’ rivals will make progress under the new regulations, which was already visible at McLaren in Japan.
Besides the experience advantage over his teammate, there is another parallel between Russell and Norris. Both went through difficult phases with their team before they could celebrate success. This is exactly what Russell referred to at the end of last season when Norris’ title was the topic:
“You can probably say that two years ago no one predicted that McLaren would make this step. Lando was with them for five years and had no fight [for the title] before that either. So you just have to accept that this is the nature of Formula 1,” said the Brit.
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“It has always been like that. If you look at Michael Schumacher: he was in his fifth year at Ferrari and in his 30s before he won a world championship with them. I am 27, so I still have some time on my side.”
It took blood, sweat, and tears, but Norris managed last year to bring all these elements together – he experienced the highs and lows with the team, used his additional experience over his teammate, and narrowly secured the title.
As far as Russell is concerned, the final phase of this season may be a little less dramatic as long as the result is the same in the end. The 2026 season is his first real chance at the biggest prize of all, but due to these factors, it could also be the year for the Mercedes star, who once convinced Wolff with a PowerPoint presentation, to strike immediately.
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