Why George Russell isn't worried about early F1 title battle momentum shift
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has emerged as a stronger F1 title contender than expected after the first races of 2026
George Russell says he has no worries about momentum already shifting in Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli's direction in the Formula 1 title fight due to April's lack of racing.
George Russell won the season opener in Australia and followed up with victory in the Shanghai sprint, building on the pre-season expectations that he was favourite to win the title.
He then lost out to Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the main race in China and again in Japan last weekend, finishing a frustrated fourth in the latter after the Italian benefitted from the timing of the safety car.
Antonelli now leads Russell by nine points in the standings.
However, he says that it’s still early days in the 2026 world championship, and stresses that luck has played a part in the swing of fortunes as drivers hit issues with the new power units or miss vital track time during the weekend.
“Just how it’s panned out, really,” said Russell when asked about that luck. “Can’t really give you more on that. Sometimes people are having problems in practice. We’ve not had a single issue in practice this whole season.
“I’ve had the problems in qualifying. Lando [Norris] hasn’t had any problems in qualifying, he’s had all his problems in practice.
“So it’s just luck of the draw with these new cars. But it’s race three of 22. I’m not concerned at all, it’s a long year. And I know I’ve got what it takes to bounce back, and not dwell on it.”
Asked if he was concerned about Antonelli building up momentum, Russell made it clear that he doesn’t see that as an issue due to the unexpected month-long break in racing in April due to the Iran war.
“No, not at all,” he said. “We’re three races down in 22, and one lap different today [with the safety car timing] and the victory would have been on my side, and I’m confident of that.
“And in China without the qualifying issue – I was three-tenths ahead in the sprint qualifying, so maybe I could have been on pole there, and won that race.
“So it’s just how it turns out. That’s racing. Now there’s a four-week break, so there’s no momentum to be carried. So reset and go again for the next race.”
In this article
Adam Cooper attended his first F1 race at Brands Hatch as a 10-year-old fan in 1976. He became a freelance journalist for Autosport magazine in 1985 while still at university, initially covering everything from club racing to the FIA World Sportscar Championship.
