Russell’s Monza defeat labelled ‘embarrassing’ as Antonelli strengthens title bid
Kimi Antonelli came from 19th on the grid to win at Monza
George Russell’s defeat to Kimi Antonelli at the Italian Grand Prix has been labelled “embarrassing” by former F1 driver David Coulthard.
Russell and Antonelli started the race from opposite ends of the Monza grid, but it was the Italian who came out on top, beating Russell by four seconds.
Kimi Antonelli beat George Russell at Monza
Russell lined up second on the Monza grid with Antonelli down in 19th place due to an engine penalty.
It was, however, the Italian at his home race who had the better pace throughout the Grand Prix.
Antonelli charged his way from 19th to 12th in two laps, then from 12th to sixth on the first lap after a red-flag restart, and took the lead from Russell for the first time on Lap 18.
That was the start of a thrilling back-and-forth battle between the teammates, which came to an end when Antonelli pitted under a Virtual Safety Car, a strategy call that dropped him to sixth.
On much fresher tyres than the drivers ahead of him, he stormed his way to second place before closing down Russell’s eight-second lead to pass his teammate and claim the Italian Grand Prix victory.
Coulthard called it an “embarrassing” outcome for Russell.
“I really felt for George because he was beaten and he, you could see, he was trying to sort of be philosophical about it,” he told the Up to Speed podcast.
“It’s embarrassing, isn’t it?
“To start at the front and be beaten by your teammate from the back.”
Kimi Antonelli v George Russell: Mercedes F1 2026 scores
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
The victory saw Antonelli extend his lead over his teammate in the Drivers’ Championship to 66 points with 10 rounds remaining, as it stands.
Coulthard doesn’t believe Russell can respond to Antonelli’s championship charge.
“We’re left with this scenario where George is licking his wounds,” he said.
“Kimi is now seven victories in Formula One, a step closer to being world champion, with no signs that George actually has an answer for him.
“We know George is a Grand Prix winner, we know he’s fast, but he just doesn’t have an answer for Kimi.”
Russell weighed in on his championship chances when he spoke with the media in Monza, accepting it won’t be easy to reel in Antonelli.
“Definitely Kimi’s in control of it and he’s deserving to be in control of it,” said the Briton.
“For me personally, I’m not even thinking about a fight or a comeback or anything. I’m just focused on taking it race by race and trying to maximise every single weekend.
“He’s performing incredibly well. It’s going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap, so I’m just sort of accepting that it is what it is and I’m just going to enjoy it from here on in and try and win as many races as possible.”
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