Racing
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Kimi Antonelli has turned Mercedes’ expected 2026 title bid into an internal shake-up, leading Formula 1’s drivers’ championship by 20 points over team-mate George Russell after winning the last three grands prix.
The 19-year-old has won in China, Japan and Miami in succession, and his surge has already put him into the record books. Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest-ever championship leader at 19 years and 216 days after his Japanese Grand Prix victory, and he is the only driver to have finished on the podium in all four races so far this season.
Even Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted the scale of Antonelli’s rise has gone beyond what the team expected. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Wolff said: “Absolutely [I’m surprised],” adding that “three wins in a row were not something we had expected.” He said Mercedes knew Antonelli’s talent was there, but “the clock says Kimi has deservedly won the last three GPs.”
That is a significant shift from the picture before the season. Russell had been widely seen as the driver most likely to lead Mercedes’ challenge in the first year of the new rules cycle, and he initially matched that expectation by winning from pole in Australia. Since then, though, Antonelli has been the stronger Mercedes driver in China, Japan and most clearly in Miami.
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner underlined how stark that latest comparison was. Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner said: “George didn't have issues [in Miami], so there was nothing really to explain it.” He added: “Even in qualifying, Kimi was better.”
Antonelli’s start has not been completely smooth. At the season opener in Australia, he crashed late in FP3 and left Mercedes with only two-and-a-half hours to carry out major repairs on his W17 before qualifying. He still emerged to qualify second behind Russell and then finished second in the race, which set the tone for a start built on both speed and recovery.
The way he has converted that pace into results has made the early balance inside Mercedes impossible to ignore. Antonelli arrived in 2026 as the younger driver alongside a more established team-mate, but four rounds into the season he is the one setting the benchmark and carrying the championship lead.
That leaves the pressure on Russell heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, with 18 races still to run and Mercedes expected to bring planned updates to Montreal. A 20-point deficit is still recoverable, but if Antonelli’s run continues, Mercedes’ title campaign may stop being a battle led by Russell and become one defined by whether anyone inside the team can halt Antonelli’s momentum.