Kimi Antonelli ‘convincingly’ beating Russell in Norris and Verstappen verdict

Kimi Antonelli earned glowing praise from the reigning world champion who he is looking to dethrone, Lando Norris.

Even though Norris feels unbeatable on a day like his impressive Hungarian GP win, he heaped praise on the teenage championship leader Antonelli, who is “convincingly” beating George Russell every time, according to Norris. The Antonelli praise continued with Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion.

Kimi Antonelli ‘rock solid’ in F1 2026 title charge

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The F1 2026 pre-season prediction was that Mercedes would start out fastest. That rung true. Part two of that prediction was that Russell would lead the Mercedes title charge. This has not transpired.

Instead, his teammate Antonelli, in only his second F1 season, has established a 50-point lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, and that lead is over Lewis Hamilton. Russell is third.

Russell started out with the pace advantage over Antonelli, but the tide turned amid reliability and Mercedes power unit gremlins, the latter felt much more impactfully by Russell.

Antonelli has not been free of bad luck either. He saw a chance at British Grand Prix victory evaporate after a wheel shield failure.

A new challenger for Antonelli could be emerging in the form of Lando Norris. The reigning and defending world champion took his first win of the season in Hungary. He drove the upgraded McLaren to a comfortable victory, sending out a warning shot for F1 2026, part two.

Antonelli’s efforts did not go unnoticed when Norris, following his Hungary win, was asked which driver has performed best, as a complete driver and car package, to his mind in the first half of F1 2026. Antonelli has “convincingly” beat Russell with consistency, says Norris.

“I think we’ll probably all just say ourselves. I feel like you can’t really compare in these things. You can’t really compare teams against teams.

“I think you have to say Kimi, as a complete package.

“They have a great car, and he’s done an incredible job, convincingly beating his teammate every single weekend. So, when you’re talking about a championship, you have to give credit to Kimi.

“But, when I have a good car like today, I feel like no one’s going to beat me.

“So, we’ll probably all say each other, but it just depends on how good the car is and things like that.”

Norris was speaking in the post-Hungarian GP press conference alongside Verstappen, who claimed second at the Hungaroring, and P3 Antonelli.

He continued: “I think you probably have, in front of you, three of the best drivers in Formula 1. There are still plenty of others, but it’s impossible to really compare these things. I think everyone who’s sat here is doing an incredible job and probably getting the most out of the car, and that’s what you can really ask for.”

Verstappen was singing from the same hymn sheet when it came to praise for Antonelli.

Verstappen did score four podiums in F1 2026, part one, though finds himself down in sixth in the standings. Red Bull has also faced gremlins to address, such as its ‘Macarena’ wing which contributed to Verstappen’s high-speed crashes at the Austrian and British GPs.

The revised wing returned for Hungary.

“I think I agree with most of what Lando has said,” Verstappen stated.

“I think, if you look at the front, Kimi has done a really good job. Really strong, really solid, being the strongest in the team. I think, if he just keeps it going – of course, he’s also been very unlucky sometimes, so that’s been, I guess, a bit of a shame – but as a 19-year-old, so far, I think he’s been rock solid.

“So, that’s really impressive to see as an outsider, I guess.

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“For me, it’s definitely been a bit of a jungle this year, but I’m just trying to enjoy it where I can. Of course, when the car is a bit nicer to drive, you can enjoy it a little bit more, even though, most of the time, you don’t really enjoy it. But that has more to do with other stuff, you know, when you’re a bit flat on battery.

“But, yeah, overall, a very strong performance. It’s nice to see. He’s, first of all, a nice guy and a very strong driver, so that’s a good combination.”

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