George Russell's brazen F1 claim is already coming back to bite him at Mercedes

Russell and Antonelli in Mercedes race suits against the FIA and F1 blue and white screen backdrop — Photo: © IMAGO

George Russell

George Russell's brazen F1 claim is already coming back to bite him at Mercedes

George Russell may live to regret a comment he made in 2025

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 12 May 2026 15:59

When seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton announced his move from Mercedes to Ferrari in February 2024, his team-mate at the time George Russell was likely looking forward to taking up the reins at Toto Wolff's F1 team.

Having joined Mercedes from Williams in 2022, Russell became Valtteri Bottas' full-time replacement, and as a result, naturally played second fiddle to Hamilton.

But with the British F1 legend on his way to the Scuderia and his replacement confirmed as Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli, the path was clear for Russell to finally step into the No.1 driver role at the Silver Arrows in 2025.

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Last year, Russell got the better of his rookie team-mate and finished P4 in the drivers' standings, with Antonelli finishing his maiden campaign down in seventh.

In a way he picked up the accolade of best of the rest behind the three main title contenders, Lando Norris (now reigning champion), Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri.

But just three rounds into the 2026 campaign, Antonelli has completely flipped the switch on Russell, usurping him in the drivers' standings and becoming the youngest championship leader in the history of F1.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen to Mercedes could fall apart as Russell behaviour called out

Will Russell regret F1 championship comments?

After the new F1 regulations were introduced for 2026 and beyond, Mercedes got a flying start and made it clear to their rivals that they were the ones to beat across the opening rounds.

Following the Chinese GP, Wolff's outfit led the constructors' standings and Russell had claimed the spot as the first championship leader of the season.

But this didn't last long and Antonelli has now made further history following the fourth round in Miami, becoming the only driver to ever convert his first three career pole positions into grand prix victories.

Antonelli is outperforming Russell right now.

What's more is that by winning the Miami GP, the 19-year-old has now extended his lead over Russell to 20 points, causing many to question if the Brit was ever made of championship-winning material.

And that brings us back to the very quotes that Russell may live to regretshould the hype around Antonelli refuse to die down.

During his first season racing alongside Antonelli, Russell rather confidently told The Athletic early on in the 2025 campaign: "Being teammates with a seven-time world champion for three years is not straightforward... there was once a time that if you finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a championship or in a race, you’d win the race. Or, if you’d finish ahead of the championship, you’d win the championship. If my time was five years prior, you could argue I’d have two championships in my name."

However, it is the latter part of that statement that could now come back to bite Russell. Even with Hamilton out the way and Mercedes seemingly the team who have given their drivers the best opportunity for title success under the new regulations, he is still struggling.

Discussing the resurfaced comments from Russell in a recent episode of the Up to Speed podcast, ex-driver and pundit Naomi Schiff said: "I don't think we should build too much pressure on George either because this can happen and it's a long season ahead. And actually, I think George will be the driver who's more consistent, constantly delivering points. Whereas Kimi… we have seen him make some mistakes. So that might work in George's favour. But yeah, I don't know. Maybe [Russell] shouldn't have said that."

At the Miami GP, the 28-year-old leaned heavily on his excuse that the Miami International Autodrome was a 'bogey track' for him and simply didn't suit his 'smooth, precise' driving style.

But should there really be such a thing as a 'bogey track' for a driver who believes in his championship-winning abilities so strongly?

If Antonelli manages to come out on top in the fight between the two Mercedes stars this season, it could prove that Russell never missed his time to shine, he just simply wasn't ready for it.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Mercedes George Russell