Surprise standings
Who would have ever imagined that after three rounds in the season the World Championship leader would be Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Ever since it was realized that Mercedes would clearly be the car to beat in this 2026, all the spotlights were on George Russell. In his eighth season in the Circus, finally at the wheel of the best single-seater, the Englishman seemed destined to have a triumphal walk towards his first world title of his career.
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Let’s be clear, Russell still has every chance not only of winning the World Championship this year but also of dominating the season; meanwhile, however, in the last two rounds – in China and Japan – Mercedes’ #63 was beaten in qualifying and in the race by his young garage mate who now leads the World Championship with a nine-point margin over him. In particular, during the Suzuka weekend, Russell seemed to start showing signs of a certain impatience towards Antonelli’s results.
A rap on the knuckles for Russell
In a chat on the official Formula 1 podcast, F1 Nation, former drivers James Hinchcliffe and Jolyon Palmer commented on Russell’s performance in these first races of the year, suggesting that the former Williams driver is perhaps underestimating the danger posed by the young talent from Bologna who drives the other silver arrow. “In racing there are always variables that you cannot control – Hinchcliffe stated – you could have two or three negative weekends in a row, maybe not through your own fault, and if you have allowed your teammate to get too close, suddenly the power dynamics can flip in his favor“.
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The impression the 39-year-old former Canadian driver has is that Russell has lost – or perhaps has not yet fully shown this year – that ‘ruthlessness’ which in his youth had led him to win the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles with authority: “Right from the start George needs to be a bit more ruthless – Hinchcliffe added, speaking with Palmer – some of those traits we saw in his career in the lower categories need to come out. You have to play that kind of game. If you look at George’s season last year, he was consistent and was good at maximizing his performance every weekend”, the former IndyCar driver concluded. Also because behind – or rather, ahead of him, at least in the standings – Antonelli is not waiting.
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