Russell bemused by pace deficit to F1 title rival Antonelli

George Russell was left bewildered by his pace deficit to Formula 1 title rival and team-mate Kimi Antonelli who took pole for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old set a 1m12.051s to beat runner-up Max Verstappen by just 0.043s to the top spot, while Russell struggled down in sixth, three tenths off the pace in another blow to his title hopes.

Russell is 43 points behind leader Antonelli despite being the heavy favourite pre-season, which he backed up by winning the Melbourne opener from pole in a Mercedes 1-2.

But all four grands prix since have been won by Antonelli, who looks set to make it five considering how few overtaking opportunities there are around Monaco.

“I don’t really know what’s going on to be honest,” said Russell. “It’s clearly something with my driving that’s not helping the car at the moment.

“But that was there at the start of the year as well and every lap I did it was… If I look at Melbourne and at least China until I have my issues, it was P1 every single session.

“Every lap I did was good. The last three races have just been nowhere. Even Canada, I was nowhere until the last lap of Q3 in both sessions. So I don’t have an answer for that.”

Mercedes has dominated the 2026 regulation change as expected and considering Russell’s strong race-winning 2025 compared to Antonelli’s up-and-down rookie campaign, the Briton was expected to charge towards his maiden title.

But after Melbourne, he suffered a mechanical issue in Shanghai Q3 that paved the way for Antonelli to win from pole, before the Italian profited from a safety car in Japan to claim another victory.

Antonelli was superior throughout Miami, a so-called ‘bogey track’ for his team-mate, before winning in Canada after Russell retired from the lead following his sprint victory.

So, Russell seemingly cannot catch a break, particularly when his last podium came in China, and he thinks his smoother driving style doesn’t suit the nimbler 2026 cars.

That is compared to Antonelli, who is extremely quick and on the limit, which very much served him well around the principality’s street track.

Russell added: “I think there’s clearly a difference in driving style between the two of us, which has been there last year as well.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

“But played into my hands very well last year and it clearly is playing into his hands perfectly well this year, but it still doesn’t answer why I was so good at the start of the year and so poor now.

“So, we need to look at why that is. It’s clear in the data. The difference is how we’re driving has such an impact on the tyres. He’s just getting the tyres in a nicer window than me.

“A nicer balance over the course of a lap and the pace is just coming easier for him. So yeah, I don’t know why that is.”

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– The Autosport.com Team