George Russell insists Mercedes will stay fair amid Kimi Antonelli title fight

Potentially engaging in an intra-team fight for the title, George Russell is adamant Mercedes will be fair to both drivers, even though he entered the campaign as the pre-season favourite.

Five years into his Mercedes career, and in his eighth season on the grid, Russell is finally eyeing a championship fight. But it’s against his teammate, Kimi Antonelli.

George Russell backs Mercedes fairness in Kimi Antonelli fight

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Although the Briton had the better of the Italian at the Australian Grand Prix, clinching pole position and the win before adding a further eight points in the Sprint in China, it’s been all Antonelli since.

The 19-year-old capitalised on Russell’s “damage limitation” in qualifying in China to take pole position and fought his way through the fast-starting Ferraris to clinch his maiden grand prix win.

He made it two from two in Japan, when he put his W17 on pole position ahead of Russell only to drop to sixth before the timing of a Safety Car allowed Antonelli to retain the lead.

A perfect 25 plus 25 in grands prix meant Antonelli took the lead from Russell in the intra-Mercedes fight by nine points.

Mercedes F1 2026: Antonelli v Russell

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

It was an unexpected turnaround with the Briton billed as the Mercedes driver to win the title.

“No, not at all, to be honest,” Russell said of that, “because it’s a hell of a long season.

“No championship is ever been won after three races. So for me, it’s always important to maximise the results.

“I’m not leading my championship, but I got to be honest, when I look at the circumstance of the last two races, I actually feel like I’ve maximised my results, and that’s all I can do.

“If things have gone slightly differently in Suzuka, I think I could have won that race if there was no safety car at all, I think I’d have finished second in that race behind Piastri.

“In, China obviously had to qualify an issue, and I think otherwise, I potentially could have been on pole there.

“So when I look at things rationally, I think I’ve maximised my results this year. And when I have a clean weekend, as I have in Melbourne, I know I can, I’ve got the capability of being on pole and winning the race.

“So obviously I was frustrated coming away from China and Japan, but that’s always going to happen at some point in the season, and I’m actually quite thankful that I still managed to get some decent points on the board.”

The Briton, the pre-season favourited, isn’t worried that the tables are moving away from him. After all, he’s adamant Mercedes will be fair on both drivers.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other invited media, Russell said: “Firstly, 100 per cent they’ll give the same opportunity to the two of us. That’s always been the case for Mercedes, ever since the Lewis and Rosberg days.

“You know, of course, I hope it’s just the two of us going for the championship, but I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, because I’ve said this numerous times, in 2022 after three races, I think Leclerc had a 30 plus point lead and Verstappen saying, the championship is over, and Ferrari were the quickest. And then at the end, they were not.

“I think we have a very good direction. I think the correlation is very good. We’re ticking all of the boxes that tell us we have a really great foundation with the car. But of course, these things change.

“We know McLaren has not brought a major update recently, and when you look at their performance in Suzuka, Piastri could have won that race without any Safety Car at all.

“So, you know, I’m just taking it race by race. The championship is not even in my mind. I just go through every race, try and maximise the performance, and we’ll count the points at the end of the season.”

As for his relationship with championship leader Antonelli, Russell says nothing has changed. They’re just two teammates in one team both chasing the top prize in Formula 1.

“No, not at all. To be honest, I think we’re both professional. We’ve still got a very good relationship, and it’s something we’re not even talking about within the team, it’s not even being spoken about.

“I even remember when I was a junior driver here in 2017, 2018 when the fight was pretty strong at points with Ferrari for the team, the championship wasn’t even on anyone’s mind. What was on everybody’s mind was performance and getting the maximum every single weekend, developing the car.

“That’s my personal mentality. I can’t speak for Kimi, but you know that’s how it is for.”

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