World champion Antonelli still learning from Russell’s qualifying craft

Winning the F1 title has not ended Kimi Antonelli’s work on qualifying. The new champion says he is still trying to understand how his Mercedes team-mate George Russell finds an extra step from practice into qualifying.

On the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, Antonelli said he admires Russell’s ability to find a rhythm and lap time in qualifying. He said that during the 2026 season he had been trying to understand how to extract more qualifying performance himself. Antonelli added that he would keep learning how Russell gets more from both himself and the car during a qualifying session.