With three races ticked off so far of the 2026 Formula 1 season, it appears that Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is now a significant championship threat to his teammate George Russell.

With just one year of premier class racing experience, Antonelli secured victory in two of the three races so far in China and Japan, making him the championship leader.

Russell, on the other hand, who joined F1 in 2019 and has been with Mercedes after his early stint with Williams, was expected to lead the team with flying colors, but with Antonelli in top form, it looks like Russell may have gotten a bitter reality check after finishing in P4 last weekend at Suzuka.

The British driver won the opening round in Australia and the sprint race in China, but after that, Kimi Antonelli took over the lead. Mercedes has provided both drivers with a dominant car that clearly outperforms its rivals, but out of the two, Kimi Antonelli seems to be coming out on top.

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The 19-year-old driver started the race at Suzuka from pole position and went on to win the race, despite suffering a setback during the race start due to excessive wheelspin, dropping him several places.

Antonelli Proved His Dominance in Suzuka

Sky Sports F1‘s Natalie Pinkham, Martin Brundle, and David Croft discussed the Mercedes drivers on The F1 Show, stating that Russell will now be eager to bounce back after his P4 finish in Japan. Crofty noted that Kimi Antonelli had the advantage throughout all sessions during the race weekend in Japan. He said:

“I felt in the practice sessions that Kimi had one, two, sometimes three tenths on George. George’s problems weren’t helped by a setup direction that gave him a less-than-ideal rear end to the car. And that certainly played out in qualifying. I think it played out a bit in the race as well.

“But take that away, Kimi Antonelli, Barring his [race] start was absolutely superb in the race. And he admitted the start was his fault. He dumped the clutch a bit too much. Tires were cold, got the wheel spin to battle back from P6, at the end of the first lap to then go and win.

“Absolutely superb. And with or without the safety car, he was the fastest man on the track around the time of the safety car, and I think he would have put a lot of pressure on his teammate, and then Oscar Piastri as well.

“You know what it’s like, Martin, as a driver once you’ve got that confidence. It was almost like a fifth wheel for him. Um, it does give you an extra tenth, an extra two-tenths. And I think that’s what we saw a lot of this weekend.”

Russell Will Have to Expect The Unexpected

Former F1 driver Brundle stated that with a dominant car at hand, Russell will be concerned about the championship after Kimi Antonelli proved what he could do. He said:

“If I was George, I’d be more concerned after three races than I was at the beginning of the season. George did all those hard yards at Williams and spent an extra year or two there. Goes to Mercedes, they stopped dominating and [he] has to tolerate all that.

“Now, they look like they got a championship car, and you’d say George has got the upper hand, and all of a sudden he’s got to be looking across the garage and thinking, ‘Hang on a minute. This is nowhere near certain. I’ve got to beat this teenager yet.’”

Pinkham added that Russell was the favorite driver until now, but things seemed to have changed a bit. She said:

“George was the out-and-out favorite coming into the season and Kimi was just going to be a very convenient rear gunner. Suddenly, he looks like a threat and it’s like, hang on a minute. Wasn’t expecting that.”

Brundle added that Russell will have to look at Kimi Antonelli as a significant championship threat and treat him like how his former teammate Lewis Hamilton was during his prime in F1. He said:

“It’s difficult times for George, and he’s got to treat Kimi Antonelli just as if he’s Lewis Hamilton in his peak and a threat for the championship.”

“Mercedes” komandasının italiyalı gənc pilotu Andrea Kimi Antonelli Formula 1 üzrə dünya çempionatlarının tarixinə düşüb.

Arena.az xəbər verir ki, 19 yaşlı idmançı buna Yaponiya qran-prisində qalib gəlməklə nail olub.

İtaliyalı pilot hazırda 72 xalla ümumi sıralamada liderdir. Onu 63 xalla komanda yoldaşı Corc Rassel izləyir.

Antonelli Formula 1 tarixində liderliyə yüksəlmiş ən gənc pilot olub. O, bunu 19 yaş 216 günlüyündə bacarıb.

Xatırladaq ki, əvvəlki rekord hazırda “Ferrari”nin uğurları üçün çalışan təcrübəli pilot Luis Hamiltona (22 yaş 126 günlük) məxsus idi.

Kimi Antonelli yenicə başlamış Formula 1 üzrə dünya çempionatının 2026-cı il mövsümündə uğurlu çıxışı ilə diqqət mərkəzindədir. Cari mövsümün ilk qran-prisini onun komanda yoldaşı Corc Rassel qazanmışdısa, Çində və Yaponiyada təşkil edilmiş növbəti qran-prilərdə məhz Antonelli hamıdan sürətli olub.

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has claimed that Kimi Antonelli has had the "upper hand" over his experienced team-mate George Russell throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend so far.

The Italian driver secured pole position for the race at the Suzuka circuit, and Russell will join him on the front row with a P2 start.

"We have seen through the practice sessions that Antonelli has had the upper hand," Chandhok told Sky Sports F1.

"All through qualifying, it looked like Russell was struggling to have a good feeling with the rear of the car - he didn't have the confidence to lean on the rear.

"In the end, we saw his last run, his first sector was strong but he didn't have that final confidence to lean on the car."

2009 F1 champion Jenson Button also spoke about Antonelli's form. "I feel we have seen a different Kimi this weekend. He's always been extremely quick but the consistency is there," he said.

"He's driving within himself, he's not overdriving. To see how good he's been through practice, and the consistency he had in qualifying, really impressive."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Antonelli secured his maiden F1 win at the Chinese Grand Prix after successfully converting pole position and he will be looking to continue that form through to the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old driver currently sits second in the drivers' standings with 47 points, four points behind his team-mate and championship leader Russell.

"I had a really clean session. Felt good. I had a strong run one," Antonelli said during the post-qualifying press conference.
 
"And then from there on, I built the momentum. And obviously, it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit. And yeah, it just felt a little bit more difficult, the car overall. But then we tried to adapt.
 
"And we made some tweaks with the aerobalance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. It was a shame for the last one. But I think it was overall a very strong session."

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The issue surrounding Formula 1 compression ratios is not yet fully closed, and Mercedes is once again under scrutiny. While the FIA will clamp down on the high-profile compression ratio loophole from 1 June, a new area of discussion has opened up around the Silver Arrows’ front wing.

Instead of focussing on the AMG M17 E Performance power unit inside the W17, all eyes are now on the aerodynamics of the 2026 car’s front wing. After the Chinese Grand Prix, teams were required by regulation to make their designs public, allowing the FIA – as well as rival teams – to review the concepts developed on the new single-seaters.

Mercedes appears to be under observation by the FIA for its movable front wing, which allegedly operates in a so-called “two-phase” manner.

The closing movement of the wing reportedly occurs in two stages: the first complies with the 400-millisecond limit set by the 2026 regulations, satisfying the sensor used to monitor movable aerodynamics. However, there is a second command – bringing the wing elements to full closure – and this extends the closing time beyond the 400-millisecond allowance.

L'ala anteriore in livrea speciale della Mercedes W17 per Suzuka

It is easy to find video clips online showing the activation of the Mercedes system and the operation of this “two-phase” wing, suggesting a possible irregularity on which the FIA will have to rule. The solution is believed to reduce the effect of the sudden forward load transfer just before braking, improving the car’s balance during the critical phase of corner entry.

The initial request for regulatory clarification was originally attributed to Ferrari by a report from Italian publication Autoracer. However, the Scuderia has denied this.

According to information available to Motorsport.com, the report is believed to have come from another team in the paddock, which remains anonymous for now. More details are expected ahead of this weekend’s grand prix at Suzuka.

The matter now lies in the hands of the technical staff led by FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis. The Japanese race weekend will need to resolve the issue to prevent further controversy.

Ferrari pushes energy recovery to the limit: How its strategy will change at Suzuka

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