May 12 (GMM) George Russell is under mounting pressure after being comprehensively beaten by teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli so far in 2026.
The Italian 19-year-old has now won the last three races from pole position and leads Russell by 20 points in the world championship, intensifying scrutiny inside the dominant Mercedes team.
“I have to be completely honest, Kimi Antonelli completely outclassed George Russell in Miami,” Ralf Schumacher said on Sky Deutschland.
“That’s just how it is. The gaps were huge, also in terms of laptimes.”
Schumacher believes the balance of power inside Mercedes is now rapidly shifting.
“For Toto Wolff, the situation is perfect because he now has his number 1 driver,” he said. “His number 1, who can fight for the World Championship, and Russell, who can score points. That’s how it looks at the moment.”
“And now something else will happen within the team – they will listen to Antonelli more and more. Moreover, he obviously has a huge influence on everything with his race engineer,” Schumacher added, referring to the famous Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington.
“It will be interesting for Russell to see if he can turn things around. I think it will be difficult for him.”
Schumacher thinks Russell’s demeanour has already visibly changed.
“Russell is a superb F1 driver and, with his experience, has a good chance of competing for the championship,” he said.
“However, you can tell things aren’t going as smoothly as they used to and he’s questioning himself.”
“His teammate is currently faster, and he himself seems tense. The situation reminds me of Oscar Piastri last year.”
He even criticised Russell’s public image management.
“From my perspective, Russell isn’t being authentic,” Schumacher said. “George plays a certain game with his English politeness.”
“And right now, it’s kind of backfiring on him, because he’s not being himself. I think it would do him good to speak his mind.”
“He could honestly address the situation – everyone can see from the outside that things aren’t going well.”
Meanwhile, Antonelli has admitted his rivals are no longer treating him like a rookie.
“Last year, Verstappen and Hamilton were very open and helped me,” he told Bild newspaper. “But now they’ve stopped.”
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