Kimi Antonelli vs George Russell: Who has really lost more points through bad luck in 2026?

Antonelli was rapidly closing up on race leader Charles Leclerc on much fresher tyres when he suffered a broken tyre shield which ultimately dropped him out of the points, after he cut too many corners driving a damaged car which also resulted in a time penalty.

Misfortune hit Antonelli in both Silverstone and Barcelona after Russell failed to score in both Canada and Monaco. Speaking after Silverstone, the Brion said he was "not sure" whether the luck had evened out between the pair but conceded that a 25 point gap in Antonelli's favour was "fair", admitting that the Italian has done the better job out of the two so far this season.

But which driver has lost more points out of the two so far this season? GPblog goes through each race to determine what the gap should be after Round 9 of the 2026 championship.

George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix after an enjoyable early fight with Charles Leclerc. Kimi Antonelli dropped to seventh and had to work his way back up to second, and was closing on Russell in the latter stages but it was likely that the British driver could also have gone quicker and was driving conservatively.

No change in the sprint race as Russell crossed the line first, while Antonelli finished fifth after serving a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar.

Russell could have taken pole after a problematic qualifying session for the Grand Prix but ultimately finished second to Antonelli. In the race Russell lost positions to both Ferrari drivers after a difficult restart following a safety car but made his way back up to second. The Brit attempted to close the gap to Antonelli but the Italian had an answer for everything Russell could throw at him.

Antonelli appeared to have the pace advantage over Russell and although it could have been a different story if Russell took pole, there is no guarantee that he would have still beaten his younger teammate, so no change to the points score.

The first piece of bad luck was the timing of the safety car in Japan, which was brought out after Russell exited the pits following his stop, just after Oliver Bearman crashed. That gave Antonelli and others the opportunity for a cheap pitstop, with the Italian finishing first and Russell finishing fourth behind Oscar Piastri and Leclerc.

Russell could have won in Japan but there was no certainty he would have finished ahead of Oscar Piastri who had been leading and showing strong pace. So Russell lost at least six points for a second place finish, while Antonelli likely gained 10 points with a third place finish ahead of Leclerc most likely.

No change in the sprint race as although Kimi Antonelli did have the better of George Russell in their scrap, his five second penalty for track limits which resulted in him finishing behind the Brit was right.

Antonelli won the Grand Prix after getting past Lando Norris by undercutting the McLaren driver at the pit stops. Russell was fortunate that Leclerc spun on the final lap as he gained two points to finish fourth, but the mistake of another driver shouldn't count as good luck in his favour.

There is no change to the sprint result but Russell lost either a first or second place finish in the race after he retired from the lead. Although Antonelli had the pace advantage, Russell was still ahead after their fierce scrap, so this will count as 25 points lost for the British driver.

Antonelli was unbeatable in Monaco while Russell's race result is rather complicated. Russell was one of many drivers to be handed a pitlane speeding penalty, which for him, then turned into a drive through penalty after he failed to serve his first penalty correctly.

Given that Gasly's time penalty was wiped out resulting in him finishing third, Russell likely would have also seen his penalty wiped out if served after the race. A third place finish for Russell was likely, rather than 12th, meaning he lost out on 15 points.

Barcelona was the first race where bad luck hit championship leader Antonelli. The Italian had just passed Russell for 2nd before he pulled off the track to retire from the race, losing him 18 points, with Russell gaining three.

Russell had the better of Antonelli during the Austrian Grand Prix, winning the race from pole position, with the Italian finishing third behind Max Verstappen.

Antonelli only qualified fourth, but a front row was likely if he had not mistaken the single yellows for Verstappen's qualifying crash as double yellows. Perhaps unlucky, but it was a mistake that Russell did not make as he took pole position despite slowing down enough for the single yellow flag.

Antonelli lost a certain victory at Silverstone, as it would have been impossible for Leclerc to stay ahead given the rate of time that the Italian was closing up on much fresher tyres towards the end of the race.

Russell somehow suffered both misfortune and fortune during the British Grand Prix. A slow puncture dropped him back to fifth, but Verstappen's accident, Antonelli's broken tyre shield and Hamilton's pitstop under the safety car, promoted him to second. Verstappen's accident was down due to his car rather than a driver error, while he would have also finished behind Hamilton in fifth - meaning he gained eight points, while Antonelli lost 25.

Race - Kimi Antonelli 1st (Finished 15th), George Russell 5th (Finished 2nd)

With all of the races applied, Russell has still lost more points through bad luck than his teammate Antonelli, but would still be behind in the drivers' championship.

Without his lost points, Antonelli would be on 197 points, 18 more than the 179 he currently has on the board. Russell meanwhile would have 184 - 30 more than what he has so far this season.