Kimi Antonelli’s championship-winning 2026 season marked a dramatic reversal at Mercedes. George Russell began the year with a victory in Australia and had looked well placed to lead the team, but Antonelli went on to claim the title four rounds before the end of the season, finishing 130 points ahead of his team-mate.
The season’s headline figures underline the gap: Antonelli won nine races to Russell’s three and recorded 16 podiums to Russell’s eight. Yet the qualifying comparison was much closer. Across 109 comparable practice and qualifying sessions, Antonelli led 58 times and Russell 51. In Q3 and sprint Q3, Antonelli’s median advantage was 0.185 seconds. Russell also took five poles to Antonelli’s seven and had a slight edge in sprint qualifying.
The larger separation came on Sundays. Comparing laps in clear air, on the same tyre compounds and with similar tyre age, Antonelli was faster in eight of the nine races with enough comparable running, by roughly a quarter of a second per lap. Baku was the exception: Russell won from pole while Antonelli spent much of the race recovering through traffic after a qualifying crash. Russell also had a greater share of Mercedes’ engine-performance problems, including issues in Mexico, Silverstone and Spa.
The analysis points to contrasting approaches through corners as one explanation. Russell has described his preference for getting on the throttle early and focusing on the exit. Antonelli tends to carry more speed into a corner, brake a little later and use sharper steering inputs to rotate the car. He often begins applying throttle earlier too, but more gently, while Russell tends to wait and then commit more firmly.
That approach appears to suit sequences of corners and longer entries, where Antonelli can gain time between turn-in and the apex. In an assessment of 11 of his quicker qualifying laps, he was faster in that part of the corner 71% of the time. Russell, by contrast, has often been stronger through short, slow turns, including several hairpins. The differences can be small, but Antonelli recorded six qualifying wins by at least 0.35 seconds, compared with one for Russell.
Tyre management also appears to have contributed. Antonelli has generally controlled rear-tyre slip well, while Russell has sometimes lost pace as the rear tyres deteriorated. In nine of the 14 race stints that could be directly matched, Russell’s lap times fell away faster as the tyres aged. Russell has said the season’s higher tyre pressures made the rear tyres less able to cope with aggressive throttle use, affecting corner exits.
The 2026 car and rules may have helped Antonelli’s approach. The cars have less aerodynamic and mechanical grip than the previous Mercedes, a change that he said gave him more feeling and control. The 2025 car’s ground-effect downforce had made it harder for him to manage the front axle and attack corner entries, while loss of grip could be difficult to catch. Antonelli said he felt more able to judge the limit in the new car from his first running at Mercedes’ Silverstone shakedown.
His advantage was not simply a new driving style: the difference was present in 2025, but the previous car suited Russell more. Russell outqualified Antonelli at 15 circuits that season; at seven of those same tracks in 2026. Russell has tried to move closer to Antonelli’s approach, but his results have remained uneven. He has described a season without many average performances, while Antonelli maintained a more consistent level.
The reasons may not be limited to the car’s handling. In Austin, Antonelli’s approach through medium-speed corners appeared to require less throttle, while Russell’s use of the throttle may have affected how much battery energy was available later in the lap. The available information does not establish how frequently or significantly this difference occurred, but Russell has argued that Antonelli’s style works well with the 2026 engine demands.
Looking ahead, the article notes that next season’s changes to downforce, energy deployment and tyre balance could alter the comparison. Russell believes more front-limited tyres may suit him better. But after Antonelli’s emphatic championship win, Russell faces the task of understanding why his strongest performances were not sustained across the season.
Sources: The Race.