Antonelli does not get Russell's comments: 'How is that possible?'
Photo: Race Pictures
18:48, 04 Jun
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Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Kimi Antonelli does not agree with George Russell's claim that the drivers' title is the Italian's to lose this season. According to the youngster, he cannot lose something he has yet to achieve.
Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Russell has once again declared Antonelli the favourite for the 2026 World Drivers' Championship. The gap between the two teammates currently stands at 43 points.
Russell said to the BBC: "If I look at it from my competitor's position, you're kind of in a position now that you've got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it or you can only lose it.
"It's his to lose. My mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race, the same as I've done this whole season. I'm going to fight the same, I'm not going to change my mentality at all, nor am I going to let this put any more pressure on to me."
Photo: Race Pictures
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Antonelli reacts to Russell's take
Answering GPblog's question in Monaco, the current championship leader said: "No, to be fair I don't really give way to that line because it's so early into the season, still 17 maybe more races left and it's still it's very, very early to think or talk about championship.
"To be fair I just continue on trying to excel, trying to do my best whenever I go in the car, trying to maximize the result and and then we'll see where we end up in at the end of the season. It's difficult to think about losing something when you have when you don't even have it, I didn't win the championship. So how can I lose something that I didn't even achieve? So, yeah, so definitely I will race as I always did, enjoy it as much. And then, as I said before, we'll see where we end up at the end of the season."
Moreover, Antonelli highlighted that he is not feeling any pressure, similar to what Russell said. The Italian continued: "I don't feel that much pressure. I feel pretty relaxed about the situation because, sadly, it's still very early on into the season. I just want to keep on doing what I'm doing, trying to raise the bar and trying to win as much as possible. And then, of course, George is a super strong teammate and he will make my life very hard. But yeah, on my side, I just try to deal the best way as possible with every situation and then trying to excel at what I do."
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Monaco Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 05.06.26
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11:30 AM
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Saturday 06.06.26
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Friday 05.06.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
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