Wolff says Russell is getting used to Antonelli’s challenge
Archive photograph: Toto Wolff · Australian Grand Prix paddock, Melbourne 2026 · 2026-03-07Archive photo · 2026-03-07 · Yu Chu Chin · CC BY-SA 4.0
GPBeat reports that Toto Wolff believes George Russell has become accustomed to the challenge of beating Kimi Antonelli, who leads the 2026 championship with 302 points to Russell’s 236.
George Russell began the 2026 season as Mercedes’ expected title contender. Now he is chasing team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and Toto Wolff says Russell has had to adjust to the scale of the challenge.
Antonelli leads the championship with 302 points and eight wins; Russell is second on 236, with three victories. That reverses the 2025 picture, when Antonelli made his debut and often had to concede the advantage to Russell.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff said Russell expected Antonelli to be a strong rival but was surprised by the scale of the challenge. He described Russell as sometimes feeling low and said the adjustment was difficult when a young team-mate seemed to find everything easy.
Wolff believes Russell has now grown accustomed to the reality: beating Antonelli will be very difficult.
Sources 01
- SOURCEWolff onthult harde realiteit voor Russell bij MercedesRacingNews365 Nederland
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