George Russell says his relationship with Kimi Antonelli remains strong despite contrasting 2026 seasons

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

George Russell says his day-to-day relationship with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli has not been affected by their very different 2026 performances, describing it as continuing to be “a good relationship.” Russell said the usual sources of rivalry—on-track incidents or actions—have not created pressure in their working dynamic this year, and that they have therefore “not allowed the season to impact their working relationship.”

Russell’s comments come as Mercedes’ 2026 campaign has produced contrasting results between the two drivers. He acknowledged that while both drivers want to outperform a teammate, Antonelli has largely held the upper hand: “he’s been at a higher level than me this year,” which Russell said has meant they have not frequently been put into situations that escalate direct competition. Russell also explained that when it comes to racing, he and Antonelli “keep ourselves to ourselves” and focus on working with their respective engineers to extract performance.

Ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, where the source states Antonelli will seal his maiden title as long as he finishes no lower than ninth, Russell emphasized that the team’s internal relationship has remained stable. On a personal level, Russell said Antonelli is “obviously a great guy with lots of energy,” adding that they have had “no reason this year not to continue a good relationship.”

Russell also reflected on his own season, describing the challenge of maintaining a consistently high level of performance. Despite demonstrating moments of top capability—such as a pole position in Baku by eight-tenths and leading Max Verstappen for victory—the Mercedes driver said that performance has not translated into the kind of results he needs to sustain a high “hit rate.” He noted stretches of inconsistency, including retirements and finishes outside the podium, and said he does not yet know why there is such a “gulf between his good and bad weekends.”

Russell said his immediate priority for the last few races is improving consistency. He described 2026 as unlike any season in his career in terms of how widely his performances have fluctuated, and he pointed to the possibility that the potential is still present—arguing that performances like Baku cannot happen if a driver has “lost it.” However, he said Mercedes is still struggling to explain the low frequency of strong results and that identifying the reason behind the inconsistent pattern is the focus of his end-of-season push.

Looking beyond the current campaign, Russell also addressed whether he has a plan to beat Antonelli in 2027, with both drivers set to remain at Mercedes. He said his approach has included working with a sports psychologist for seven years, including during his most successful F1 period, and he framed his challenge as one of self-improvement rather than direct head-to-head strategy. In his view, it is not about “boxers” fighting directly in a ring against an opponent; instead, he compared the mental approach to golfers working independently on their own execution, where the key difference is the preparation behind a qualifying lap or a strong performance.

Russell said he is not “directly” focusing on how to defeat his main rival, but rather asks himself what he needs to change to avoid poor performances. He described examining “the feelings I had from myself and the car during the great performances” and trying to replicate them more often, framing his final-step goal as turning his standout weekends into a more repeatable baseline.