'He doesn't like it': Antonelli reveals Russell relationship change at Mercedes

Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli has revealed a change in his relationship with team-mate George Russell in recent weekends.

Antonelli and Russell have been team-mates since the start of the season, when the Italian teenager took Lewis Hamilton's place in the team and Russell was promoted more into a 'team leader' role.

And since then, Russell has performed exceptionally well, looking every bit like a driver who could win a world championship if he had the car, winning two grands prix in 2025 and currently sitting fourth in the standings.

Antonelli, meanwhile, has had a bumpy ride throughout his rookie season, but he has managed to claim his maiden podium in the sport, and backed that up last weekend with a career-best second-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

He has been getting closer to Russell's level since the European leg of the season ended, and he has now beaten his much more experienced team-mate in each of the last two grands prix.

The pair will be Mercedes' two drivers in 2026 too, after they both recently signed new contracts, and 2026 will be a real test for Antonelli to see if he sustain a real challenge to Russell throughout the course of a full season.

After the Brazilian GP, Antonelli revealed a bit of a tweak in the pair's relationship: "My relationship with George is definitely changing," he told Sky Sports F1. "It's natural that he's not happy to finish behind me, just as I'm never happy when I'm behind. The relationship has changed and will continue to change, but there's a lot of respect between us and there's a good dynamic in the team because we're pushing each other."

Antonelli's 2025 season

After a very strong start to his rookie season, Antonelli had a bit of a rookie year slump, only picking up points at three of 10 race weekends between May-September.

But now he is very much on an upward trend again, helping Mercedes in their battle for second in the constructors' championship by scoring 58 points in his last six race weekends.

It also means that the 19-year-old is edging closer to Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship, and could yet overtake the seven-time world champion for sixth with three race weekends remaining.

"This weekend definitely gives us an incredible boost heading into Las Vegas, where the team was fantastic last year," Antonelli continued. "We hope to be strong again. Obviously, the car has different characteristics compared to 2024, but the DNA is very similar.

"I'm coming off a positive moment. Things also went well in Mexico, even if the result didn't show the potential. The biggest difference this weekend is that we managed to put everything together, even the details.

"It was a really exciting result because I had a very dark period in the previous months. I managed to get out of it, so this podium is really special on a personal level too."

READ MORE: Toto Wolff 'in advanced talks' to sell Mercedes stake

Related