Etiqueta: Ferrari

George Russell’s costly Canadian Grand Prix retirement, which knocked him 43 points back, showed he would have a Kimi Antonelli-sized problem to deal with this year. His fifth qualifying defeat to a high-flying Italian in Monaco further underlined that problem won’t go away any time soon.

Russell had made a strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 season with a pole-to-flag victory in Melbourne, but a series of unfortunate events, from safety car timings to reliability problems, quickly shifted the momentum in the 2026 title race to Antonelli.

But beyond Russell’s rotten luck in China, Japan and Canada, an equally – if not more – worrying trend has emerged in recent races. On low-energy circuits where tyre warm-up is a significant factor, Russell’s butter-smooth driving style appears to be working against him in the 2026 car, while Antonelli’s more aggressive turns of the wheel seem to be naturally putting him in the right window to extract the most out of the W17.

The difference first emerged in Miami, where Russell qualified four tenths behind Antonelli in both sprint and grand prix qualifying. Russell initially put that deficit down to the Miami Autodrome being a bogey track due to its smooth asphalt. But at the next two low-energy circuits with an abundance of low-speed corners but few higher-speed sections to put lateral load into the tyres, Montreal and Monte Carlo, a similar scenario emerged.

In Canada, Russell still managed to outqualify Antonelli by a narrow margin, although he admitted he was «nowhere until the last lap of Q3» in both qualifying sessions and managed to wrangle a «special» lap out of the bag.

But in Monaco’s narrow streets Russell was beaten decisively, with Antonelli darting to pole while the former could only manage sixth, four tenths adrift.

“I don’t really know what’s going on to be honest,” said a flustered Russell. “It’s clearly something with my driving that’s not helping the car at the moment.»

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

In Monaco it emerged Russell struggled to get the tyres up to temperature, an issue which plagued other drivers up and down the grid too, with Antonelli seemingly better at naturally sliding the tyres into the right operating window without having to make a big adjustment. The biggest chunk of Russell’s four-tenth deficit came in the second and third sectors, particularly through the Nouvelle Chicane.

There is a big distinction between acknowledging the difference on the telemetry and understanding how to address it, though. Saturday in Monaco left Russell «bamboozled», with his side of the garage now looking into ways he could adjust his driving on out-laps and investigating other set-up-related tweaks to help mitigate the issue on similarly low-speed circuits.

“I think there’s clearly a difference in driving style between the two of us, which has been there last year as well,» Russell elaborated. “It played into my hands very well last year and it clearly is playing into his hands perfectly well this year, but it still doesn’t answer why I was so good at the start of the year and so poor now.

“So we need to look at why that is. It’s clear in the data. The difference is how we’re driving has such an impact on the tyres. He’s just getting the tyres in a nicer window than me. A nicer balance over the course of a lap and the pace is just coming easier for him. I don’t know why that is.”

The issue shouldn’t be rearing its head at next weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with its long, demanding corners, making the Spanish event a good barometer of whether the driving style theory is an isolated issue or whether there are other factors at play.

Even-keeled Antonelli doesn’t blink when faced with his biggest test yet

That first trend wouldn’t be such a big disaster if Russell had been paired with a rookie team-mate who’s scuffling as well. But the 2026 spec of Kimi Antonelli is nothing like last year’s version, and the second emerging trend that is really scuppering Russell’s title hopes is that whatever F1 is throwing at his less experienced team-mate, the 19-year-old is simply responding to it with unflappable gusto.

Qualifying in Monaco was Antonelli’s biggest test yet as he faced a surprise challenge by four-time world champion Max Verstappen for pole. As far as pressure goes, it doesn’t get any more intense than the 3.3km street circuit. Every corner a chance to trip up, every undulation an opportunity to be knocked off kilter. But Antonelli delivered a supremely impressive pole lap, arguably his finest hour in F1 until now, and further underlined that he simply won’t go away.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Confidence is at an all-time high, and as Lewis Hamilton did before him, the Bologna native has meshed well with experienced race engineer Peter Bonnington in his ear.

«This is one of the most intense, if not the most intense qualifying sessions of the year, and it takes a massive effort, also in practice, because you just keep trying to get close to the limit,» Antonelli said shortly after climbing out of the Mercedes, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

«Then it’s about finding the last two tenths, it’s not easy because the walls start to come closer and it’s not easy to gain the confidence. But I have to be honest, I felt great this morning and I’m happy that we could finish the job today.

«It was one of those laps that we call the magic lap.»

With every passing race weekend Mercedes becomes more vindicated by its decision to let Antonelli get his rookie blues out of the way during a tough 2025 debut campaign, and alongside his natural turn of speed, his ability to absorb information and learn from his mistakes has turned him into a formidable competitor seemingly overnight.

Is Russell’s issue temporary and track-specific or has he met his match in Antonelli? As the European races follow thick and fast with six races in eight weekends, the answer will come sooner rather than later.

Additional reporting by Ben Vinel

Photos from Monaco GP – Saturday

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