Ecclestone names two title candidates, but only one Mercedes driver is on the list

Bernie Ecclestone has whittled down this year’s title contenders to a battle of two, and no, they are not both Mercedes drivers.

Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell hold down the 1-2 in the Drivers’ standings after four race weekends, with the Italian 20 points ahead of his teammate.

Verstappen and Antonelli set for world title duel, Ecclestone declares

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Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest-ever championship leader when he edged ahead of Russell at the Japanese Grand Prix, before extending his advantage with a victory in Miami.

That Sunday, the 19-year-old became the first driver in F1 history to convert his first three grand prix pole positions into race wins.

He also, according to former F1 supremo Ecclestone, stamped his authority as Mercedes’ driver for the world championship.

But the 95-year-old doesn’t believe Antonelli will have it all his own way, not after Miami.

F1 2026: The season’s winners and losers

The results of the F1 2026 championship

The F1 2026 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

As Mercedes’ rivals laid down their markers with their first big upgrades of the F1 2026 season, Red Bull brought seven new parts to the track and entered the championship fight.

Having been at least eight-tenths down in the opening qualifying sessions of the season, Verstappen was just 0.166s slower than Antonelli in qualifying on the Saturday and could’ve fought for a podium result were it not for his spin on the opening lap.

Despite the spin, an early pit stop, and a 50-lap run to the line on the hard tyres, Verstappen still finished the grand prix in fifth place.

Ecclestone believes that was just the beginning for Verstappen, who will take on Antonelli for the F1 2026 world title.

“Antonelli or Verstappen will be world champion,” he insisted to the Swiss newspaper Blick.

“Red Bull has apparently overcome the slump.

“Max has caught fire again – and then he’s dangerous.”

Last season, Verstappen overhauled his 104-point deficit to Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix to beat the McLaren driver to P2 in the standings by 11 points. He fell just two points short of a record-equalling fifth successive world title.

Verstappen sits 74 points behind Antonelli after four rounds of the F1 2026 championship.

To date the Dutch racer has only overturned a 46-point deficit to win a title, doing so in 2022 against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

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