George Russell made it clear that Kimi Antonelli's current advantage in the 2026 Formula 1 championship is "not even a consideration" at this point in the season. The 19‑year‑old Italian, who sits nine points ahead of the Mercedes veteran, is chasing a third consecutive race win as the series heads to Miami for a Sprint weekend. Antonelli’s position is historic – he is the youngest driver ever to lead the F1 standings, and this is only his second year in the top tier.
Yet neither of the Mercedes drivers has mounted a genuine title challenge so far, and Russell insists the leaderboard shuffle does not alter the team’s internal dynamics. When asked whether Antonelli’s lead changes anything for Mercedes, Russell replied, "No, not at all. I was asked the question this morning while we were talking about the London Marathon, and it gave me a useful analogy.
The runner in a marathon doesn’t think about the finish line after three miles because there are still 23 miles left. We’re only in race four of a long season, so the lead is not even a consideration. Of course, Kimi has done an outstanding job this year.
My last race was a bit unlucky, but things swing back and forth throughout a season. I know enough about how a championship works to understand that there is a long way to go." Russell added that he feels he has extracted the maximum performance possible from his car given the circumstances, and he reflected on his junior career where victories did not come every weekend.
"The championships I fought for and won as a youngster were never won on a weekly basis," he said. "There are weekends when the car fails, when you get caught in an incident, or when luck simply isn’t on your side. The same applied to the title contenders last year.
Difficult weekends are inevitable. If a tough weekend still yields a P2 in China or a P4 in Japan, I consider that a decent result. My aim is to have smooth weekends, because when the car runs clean I can fight for the win." The five‑week hiatus since the previous Grand Prix means every team has used the time to bring new parts to Miami, although the scale of the upgrades varies. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are introducing major components, while Mercedes is spreading its development over the next two events – Miami and then Canada.
Russell expressed mild surprise at some rivals bringing upgrades to Miami, suggesting they were perhaps intended for Bahrain or Saudi Arabia. "We expected a lot of teams to debut upgrades in Montreal. We’ll have a slightly bigger package for Canada, given there are two weeks after Miami.
Hopefully the field hasn’t closed the gap too much by then," he explained. For his part, Antonelli, who returns to the circuit where he earned his first F1 pole in Sprint Qualifying a year ago, anticipates a more competitive weekend.
"It will be a very interesting weekend for us. We’re not bringing anything major, just a few small tweaks, while other teams are launching big upgrades – Ferrari, McLaren and even Red Bull are bringing new parts. They’ll likely close the gap and we may have to fight harder," he said.
"We’ll keep our heads down, I’ll try to get the most out of the car and give my best, and then we’ll see what the result is." The schedule for the Miami weekend is packed. On Friday, May 1, the day starts with an F2 practice session at 2:35 pm, followed by the Miami GP practice at 4:30 pm, then F2 qualifying at 7:25 pm, the team bosses’ press conference at 8:10 pm, and finally Sprint qualifying beginning at 9:30 pm. Saturday, May 2, features the F2 sprint at 2:55 pm, a build‑up to the Miami sprint at 4 pm, the sprint itself at 5 pm, and a series of analysis shows in the evening, culminating with the main Grand Prix qualifying at 9 pm.
Sunday, May 3, includes the F2 feature race at 5:25 pm, pre‑race build‑up at 7 pm, the Grand Prix start at 9 pm, and post‑race reaction and commentary throughout the night. All of these events are also broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event. As the 2026 season resumes in Miami, fans can watch the Sprint and the full Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. While Antonelli’s early lead is impressive, Russell’s perspective underscores the long‑term nature of a Formula 1 championship – a marathon rather than a sprint – and reminds everyone that the true battle for the title is still very much open.