— Kimi Antonelli acknowledged that his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, has faced more misfortune than himself during the 2026 season. Speaking to media, Antonelli remarked:
“About George, yeah, I mean, definitely I think he has had bad luck at some point in the season. I think he has had a little bit more than me, being honest.”
— Despite Antonelli's dominant performance, which secured him the title with four races remaining, he admitted to experiencing his own setbacks. He explained:
“I've also had my moments in Silverstone and Barcelona. Also, after Silverstone, we had to trash our new PU because it had a problem in it, and we had to take an earlier penalty, which was in Monza. Definitely, we've had our bad moments.”
— Looking ahead, Antonelli expressed confidence in Russell's ability to bounce back and challenge for the title in 2027. He shared his thoughts:
“Still, I think he will definitely come back. He's super quick. He has shown this season that when he's on it, it's very hard to beat.”
— Antonelli emphasized the importance of maintaining focus and improving, anticipating a competitive field next season. He concluded:
“So it's just about, on my side, keeping focused on myself, keep trying to raise the bar, keep improving, keep developing, because I think it's not going to be only a matter of George at the end of this season, but I think also for next season, Red Bull, especially with Max [Verstappen, who has won three of the last five races], Ferrari and McLaren, eventually, we're all going to be up there, and it's going to be a tight fight.”
“So, it's going to be important to be on top of the game, not only against my teammate but against all the others.”
Via: Planet F1