(Motorsport-Total.com) – Has the Canadian Grand Prix sealed George Russell’s fate? After his retirement in Montreal, the Briton is already 43 points behind his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship. The title has thus moved far out of reach.
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Russell himself consoled himself after his failure on Sunday by the fact that he at least led the Grand Prix when he retired. “But he wouldn’t have won anyway,” emphasizes expert Ralf Schumacher in the Backstage Boxengasse podcast from Sky.
Antonelli was “simply the better man” in Canada, says Schumacher and explains: “Kimi was clearly faster because he could attack the whole time, was right behind. And being able to stay in the ‘Dirty Air’ simply means that you are faster.”
He therefore thinks that the Italian would have overtaken his teammate sooner or later, especially since Russell made “a few too many” mistakes on Sunday. “You could already see the stress on him. And I think that will affect him again,” suspects Schumacher.
Russell also beaten on his “favorite track”
“That was a wake-up call because I think he was waiting for this track since it is his favorite track. And that he then also gets beaten there in the main race is, of course, bitter for him,” analyzes the six-time Grand Prix winner.
In fact, Russell won in 2025 at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and at least won the sprint in 2026. However, there was already a close duel with Antonelli then, and even in the race a day later, he could never shake off his teammate.
“George simply struggles more with the car and that is Kimi’s advantage,” explains Schumacher, who has noticed slight self-doubt in Russell in this context and suspects that the Briton “is currently approaching things too tensely.”
“But I also understand him,” says Schumacher, who reminds that Russell started the 2026 season as the clear world championship favorite for many experts. But while he himself only won the season opener in Melbourne, Antonelli already took his fourth consecutive Grand Prix win in Canada.
Is Russell threatened with the role of number 2?
“That is of course a burden,” says Schumacher, who sees another risk for Russell due to the current dynamics at Mercedes. Antonelli could soon establish himself internally as number 1, “if he gets through the next three, four races and is ahead of George Russell.”
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“It also depends on what happens behind the scenes. If the two are so far ahead of the rest of the world, then no one will interfere,” says Schumacher. However, if the championship should become close, he could imagine that Mercedes will eventually settle on a number 1.
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And currently, that would be Antonelli. “George Russell is obviously totally annoyed by that, no question, you can see it on him,” says Schumacher, who explains: “In my view, he will have to deal with the fact that he will probably be the number 2 in the team in the long run if Kimi continues like this.”
Antonelli is developing “splendidly, and he will still improve,” predicts Schumacher. Because while the Italian, at just 19 years old, still has room for improvement, Russell, at 28, is rather “at the peak of his career,” says Schumacher, who explains: “I don’t think he can improve much more.”
Schumacher: Wolff will “not be able to avoid” a crash
Regardless of the internal role distribution, the expert also expects that there will be at least one accident between Antonelli and Russell this year. “I suspect that the two will meet at some point,” he emphasizes.
Already in Canada, there was a duel between the two in both the sprint and the race. Although there was no crash, Antonelli complained several times that Russell left him no room in the duel. According to Schumacher, that will not end well in the long run.
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About team boss Toto Wolff he says: “At some point, he will grab both of them. But he will not be able to avoid the crash, I am pretty sure about that.” The next Formula 1 race is scheduled for June 7 in Monaco, after which the premier class travels on to Barcelona.
It was there ten years ago that the famous collision between the two then Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton occurred.
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