F1 News: Antonelli beginning to live rent-free in Russell's head

(GMM) Toto Wolff has played down suggestions George Russell (pictured) is coming under increasing pressure from teammate Kimi Antonelli, despite the 19-year-old Italian’s explosive start to the 2026 season.

Antonelli has now taken back-to-back poles and wins and leads the championship as the first-ever teenager to do so, but Wolff insists the dynamic inside Mercedes remains stable.

“No, I think he’s so experienced that it doesn’t create any pressure yet,” Wolff said when asked about whether Russell was feeling the mounting pressure.

“He’s always acknowledged how fast the boy is. I always try to be rational. There were two races that went against George, not always through his own fault. There are still 19 races left and anything can change.”

Russell, however, cut a frustrated figure after the Japanese GP, blaming bad luck for losing the championship lead.

“Our start was very normal, so again bad,” he said, before pointing to a series of setbacks.

“If the safety car had come out a lap later, I would have won the race,” he claimed.

The Briton complained of repeated issues throughout the race.

“I couldn’t charge my battery at the safety car restart. So Lewis Hamilton just flew past me. Then I had the problem later in the race again with the battery. I had no speed at all – it was just one thing after another.” [Editor’s Note: This is Formula 1 now! What a joke]

Russell also suggested misfortune has been concentrated on his side of the garage.

“Currently, it does feel like every problem we had in the last two weekends was on my side of the garage,” he said.

Despite Antonelli’s form, the Italian himself insists Russell remains the benchmark over one lap.

“I think still in qualifying he has the upper hand, especially when it comes to Q3. He’s always able to find that little bit of extra, which I’m working on,” Antonelli said.

Team boss Wolff on Sunday also pointed to one area where the young driver still needs improvement.

“His start was a bit of a disaster. He’ll probably have to go back to driving school to learn how to release the clutch smoothly,” he joked at Suzuka.

At the same time, the Mercedes boss admitted the issue is broader.

“We’re not giving them the optimal tools. Our starts were all mediocre. We have to improve that.”

Antonelli, for his part, joked that he is already working on it.

“I have plenty of time before Miami to practice how to release the clutch properly,” he said.

He leads the drivers’ standings over Russell by 9 points.