'Ecclestone backed over Russell snub as Antonelli or Verstappen tipped for title'

Photo: Race Pictures

21:01, 14 May

Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.

Following former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's claim that either Kimi Antonelli or Max Verstappen will be crowned the 2026 F1 world champion, GPblog readers were asked whether the 95-year-old was right to leave George Russell out of his predictions.

Russell came into the 2026 season as many people's favourite for the title, but it is his young Mercedes teammate Antonelli that has led the Silver Arrows' title bid early on. After wrapping up three consecutive victories at the Miami GP, the 19-year-old sits 20 points ahead of Russell at the top of the standings as the youngest championship leader ever.

Over at Red Bull, Max Verstappen's season looks like it has finally got going after an impressive P2 Qualifying finish in Miami. The Red Bull driver has struggled with driveability and technical issues in his RB22, and despite the Dutchman's spin on the opening lap of the Miami GP, he impressively charged through the grid on an alternative strategy to recover P5.

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Although F1 has only completed four rounds in 2026, Ecclestone has seemingly seen enough to narrow the title fight down to just two contenders, telling Blick: "Antonelli or Verstappen will be world champion. Red Bull has apparently overcome the slump. Max has caught fire again – and then he’s dangerous.”

GPblog readers back Ecclestone's Russell snub

Photo: Race Pictures

In a recent poll, GPblog readers have made their voices heard, with a whopping 80.7% of voters agreeing with Ecclestone's decision to leave Russell out of the title equation. Russell himself would have something to say about that, arguing to GPblog, and others, after Miami that he has mostly maximised performance in what has been somewhat of an unlucky start to the season.

In Miami, Russell also drew inspiration from Verstappen's epic title comeback in 2025 as proof of how things can be turned around. Interestingly, in the comments, however, one user argued Verstappen will not be able to cut the deficit he currently has to Antonelli in the standings.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	100
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	80
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	63
4	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	51
5	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	49
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	43
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	26
8	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	16
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	10
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	5
12	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
13	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	4
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

'Ecclestone backed over Russell snub as Antonelli or Verstappen tipped for title'

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