George Russell Says Kimi Antonelli Has F1 Title To Lose in Monaco

Mercedes teammate George Russell said Kimi Antonelli has an F1 title “to lose,” as the 19-year-old extended his private fight with Russell to a 43-point lead after the Canadian Grand Prix.

“George Russell arrived in Monaco with the intention of playing a few mind games with Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in an attempt to get his championship back on track”

BBC

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Russell arrived aiming to play “mind games” but by the end of qualifying he was sixth on the grid with Antonelli on pole, separated by 0.394 seconds.

BBC

Russell said he was “a bit bamboozled” and that “now nothing's clicking,” pointing to a shift from early-season form in Australia and China to recent races where he struggled to find pace.

In Friday practice, Ferrari went fastest in both sessions with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while Verstappen was third fastest in the first session and caused a brief stoppage after crashing into the barriers.

WRAL also noted that Mercedes has won every grand prix this year between Russell and Antonelli, but that Ferrari might be in front in Monaco as Leclerc and Hamilton showed they could end the Mercedes streak.

After qualifying left Russell sixth, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports that “George is very robust and resilient,” but said he “just never had the confidence in the car.”

Wolff added that once qualifying “started on a bad foot,” it became “super-difficult to catch up again,” framing the gap as a confidence and grip issue rather than a psychological plot.

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Elsewhere in Monaco, Valtteri Bottas dismissed rumours that Cadillac could replace him, saying the speculation was “nothing more than a bid for "headlines and clicks."”

Bottas insisted “They are 100 percent behind me,” and said he has seen a problem in the power source and “in the construction of the car” behind performance gaps with teammate Sergio Perez.

Bottas also said his confidence has been restored after understanding what went wrong, while Perez told France’s Auto Hebdo that returning to a more competitive level has proven his Red Bull struggles were not a true reflection of his abilities.

Monaco’s tight, twisty streets create a race unlike any other, and WRAL said the track is being treated like one big corner with a de facto speed limiter reducing electrical power when cars go over 200 kph (124 mph).

“It's Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 title “to lose” or so his Mercedes teammate George Russell says”

WRAL

WRAL also reported that for the first time, new-for-2026 moving aerodynamic parts for straight-line speed won’t be used in Monaco, and that Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren have put miniature “winglets” on their cars for extra downforce instead of the components that would usually move the wings.

With Cadillac on the grid, WRAL said there will be two more cars on track for a total of 22, making qualifying “more of a lottery” with an extra crowded first session.

The BBC described the starting grid as especially dispiriting for Russell because Monaco is a track where passing is expected to be next to impossible, and he needs to make up ground in the championship.

In the same Monaco qualifying context, Antonelli pipped Max Verstappen by 0.043 seconds and emphasized the importance of the start, while Russell said he needs adjustments because “Until I can make some adjustments, it's going to continue like this.”