Antonelli embraces Russell battle in bid to repeat Hamilton’s success

"I mean, that's absolutely the goal. It is to win and to eventually fight for the world championship," the young Italian driver said while answering GPblog's question in a session with a select group of media.

Antonelli is entering just his second season this year. The last driver to win a title in just his second year in Formula 1 was Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s predecessor at Mercedes, who was first crowned champion in 2008 at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Antonelli continued: "I mean, that's my goal: to win and to be one of the best. So definitely, that's what I want."

Towards the end of the season, his teammate, George Russell, repeatedly declared that he was ready to finally battle for the world title. According to many, Mercedes is also the favourite heading into the 2026 campaign.

The young Italian added: "George is very, very strong and definitely is ready to fight for a championship and is one of the benchmarks on the grid.

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