Antonelli admits weakness to Russell, but warns of 'strong base'

Thanks to his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, the young Italian currently leads the drivers' standings after three rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

He is nine points ahead of his Mercedes teammate during the forced April break, after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The second-year driver acknowledged that having new cars also benefitted him to get closer to his experienced teammate.

He began: "Yes, for sure it helps that everyone started from zero. For sure it still helps, you know. But definitely I’ve been closing the gap with him.

Antonelli continued: "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.

Therefore, Antonelli expects a hard battle. "I think he showed many times last year, and that’s why it’s not going to be easy, and that’s why I need to do everything as perfect as possible," the Mercedes driver explained.

The Italian driver is also getting more confident in the car. He explained: "Big step. Experience does a lot. Obviously, last year I’ve gone through a lot, and it taught me massively more than what I anticipated, and for sure it’s helping so far this year. Of course, there’s still a lot of work to do, but I definitely feel much more in control of the situation.

"Of course the car helps, and I’m going to try to be ready and everything because it’s one of those opportunities that don’t happen every day. So obviously, really grateful for the car that the team has provided us so far, and I just need to keep my head down," he concluded.