Russell concedes Antonelli deserves championship lead despite British GP P2 relief
Photo: Race Pictures
19:41, 05 Jul
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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he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
George Russell has conceded Kimi Antonelli "deserves to be ahead of me" after securing his first ever podium at the British GP. Russell's chances at P2 seemed all but gone after suffering a rear-right slow puncture at Silverstone, but staying out for what was a Safety Car finish - as well as damage for Antonelli - conspired to help Russell achieve the result.
Speaking at the post-race press conference, Russell first reflected on his British GP, which saw the Briton battling with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen - before the latter's late crash. The Mercedes man said he was grateful to ultimately secure P2, having "gone beyond anger and frustration," with regard to poor luck this season.
Russell told media, including GPblog: "I don't really know how to, to sum it up, to be honest, because it's been a very challenging weekend, you know, things within my control not good enough, things outside of my control haven't been good enough, which has all resulted in poor pace."
"And then in the race, you know, I was having a great battle with Max and Lewis, you know, going against two of the greatest of all time and I felt I could have passed Max and with the straight line speed over the Ferraris, I felt I could have held off Lewis as well, so P3 was probably a fair and would have been a good resort behind Charles and Kimi.
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"Then the puncture, I just couldn't believe my luck, I've gone beyond sort of anger and frustration now. And then if you told me I'm going to end up P2, I would, I wouldn't have even comprehended how that was possible. So I'm very, very grateful to have stood up on the podium."
Russell: Antonelli deserves to be ahead of me
Photo: Race Pictures
The result, along with Antonelli's eventual P16 finish, sees Russell just 25 points from the championship lead - but while the Briton has consistently lamented bad luck from the start of the 2026 season, he has conceded the young Italian - F1's youngest championship leader ever at 19 - has done a better job so far.
Following on from Antonelli's Silverstone issues - and a DNF in Barcelona which also saw Russell finish P2 - the Briton was asked whether the luck between the pair had evened out. He said: "Whether the luck is balanced out or not, I'm not sure.
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"However, based on my performances and based on his performances, over the course of these 9 races, I think probably a 25 point gap in his favour is probably correct. He has done a better job than me this year, to this point.
"So, he deserves to be ahead of me, whether it should be 25 points, whether it should be 10 points, whether it should be 35 points is a debate, but in that ballpark. I obviously lost 15 points as well in Monaco with the drive-through penalty. I think anywhere from 10 to 30 points behind is probably about fair."
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Friday 17.07.26
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 179 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 154 | |
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10 | Racing BullsRCB | 39 |
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