Why Montreal could prove a mental turning point for Russell against Antonelli

What many had tipped as the favourite for the 2026 title now finds himself chasing his team-mate after four races, with Antonelli’s surge built on three poles and three consecutive wins, including another standout drive in Miami where he held off the pressure from Norris. By contrast, the Brit once again failed to make the podium after already missing out in Suzuka, leaving him 20 points adrift of Antonelli, almost the equivalent of a full race. A gap that remains recoverable, as recent history has shown, but one that was far from expected at the start of the season.

Speaking on the Sky F1 Show podcast, the former Colombian driver suggested that Antonelli is well aware of Russell’s strength in Canada and knows he needs to beat him, with a victory there potentially giving him a decisive psychological edge over his team-mate.

Speaking to GPblog after the race, Russell played down the shift in the drivers' standings, pointing out that his rival is currently enjoying strong momentum but stressing that such swings are part of any title fight and can change over the course of a season. Drawing on his own experience, he made it clear he is not reading too much into the current situation, referencing how quickly things evolved in last year’s battle involving Verstappen.

The Brit also insisted his focus remains solely on returning to winning ways, underlining that he had the pace to fight for victories in the opening three races but lacked the performance to do so over the weekend, adding that he could just as easily have been looking at a very different set of results from the previous rounds, with this race then standing out as more of a one-off after things played out differently in Japan and China.