Kimi Antonelli vows to ‘re-establish order’ after Russell’s Baku win

Russell delivered a commanding performance in Baku, taking pole position by a substantial margin before converting it into victory. Antonelli, meanwhile, faced a recovery drive after crashing at Turn 1 during the first part of qualifying.

The Italian admitted he misjudged the available grip and labelled the error “very stupid”, leaving him 16th on the grid. From there, Antonelli adopted a cautious approach rather than attempting the all-out attacks that had characterised his recent performances.

He eventually finished fifth after working his way through the field, including a late move on Lewis Hamilton. It was a solid salvage operation, but it contrasted sharply with Antonelli’s Italian Grand Prix charge just three weeks earlier, when he had surged from 19th to victory.

Antonelli said the nature of the Baku race forced him to change his strategy early. Overtaking became more complicated when multiple cars were running in deployment modes designed to defend position, while several incidents around him offered an additional reason to avoid unnecessary risk.

While Antonelli limited the damage by taking 10 points, Russell collected the full 25 for victory. The result cut Antonelli’s championship lead to 66 points, although the Italian still holds a sizeable advantage with Baku marking the first time in six race weekends that Russell had outscored him.

The Mercedes pair now head to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, where Antonelli has made clear that he intends to return to his normal level and reassert himself against his rival having confirmed his slower alter ego had been sent home.

“He’s always been my rival,” Antonelli said of Russell. “But I’ll make sure I re-establish the order and make sure that I will be back at my usual level.

Antonelli is chasing a historic achievement in 2026: becoming the first Italian Formula 1 world champion since Alberto Ascari.