Russell focuses on Mercedes' 2026 weakness amid Antonelli Miami GP threat
Photo: Race Pictures
14:01, 28 Apr
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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he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.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 pinpointed where he needs to improve in his fight with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli at the top of the Drivers' standings. Russell trails Antonelli by nine points after the opening three races of the 2026 season.
British racer Russell was widely tipped as the favourite going into the campaign, having led the team to two victories in 2025, and Mercedes seemingly more suited to a complicated set of new regulations. Russell also delivered a commanding victory at the 2026 season opener in Melbourne.
However, whether it be due to technical issues or bad luck under the Safety Car, Russell has fallen behind Antonelli early on, after the young Italian followed up his maiden F1 win in Shanghai with another in Suzuka.
While Mercedes have locked out the front-row in all four qualifying events, including the Sprint in Shanghai, and won every race in 2026, one hiccup so far has been their race starts. Antonelli and Russell have lost 22 places already off the line, with Ferrari often gaining ground due to their smaller turbo design.
'I'm not thinking about Kimi,' says Russell
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Photo: Race Pictures
When asked whether he was worried about Antonelli's strong performance at Miami last year - where the 19-year-old became F1's youngest pole-sitter ever ahead of the Sprint race - Russell chose to focus on himself and Mercedes' weaknesses rather than address the title fight with his teammate.
Russell said to media, including GPblog: “That was his strongest track last year, but I had 20-plus other tracks that were very strong for me.
“A championship is won over the whole season, and as long as I maximise my points by the end of the season, what happens race by race, no one remembers.
“That is my goal. That is what I'm confident in achieving over the course of the championship. Consistency, good results on the bad days, victory on the good days, and that is going to continue to be my goal every single weekend.
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“So, as I said, I'm not thinking about Kimi, I'm not thinking about the championship. I'm focused on myself.”
Russell pinpoints issues to 'iron out' heading to Miami
As well as the race start, Russell also highlighted "procedural errors" he wants to iron out heading into the next stage of the season.
Russell noted how he was overtaken by Hamilton at the Safety Car restart while suffering with less energy deployment, and then later Leclerc during the Japanese GP, where he eventually finished in P4.
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“I have things that I also need to improve around the race start, because that's clearly a very important factor,” Russell said.
“I have things I need to improve around the Safety Car restart. I made some procedural errors that led to me being overtaken by Lewis in Japan and then the problem later in the race with Leclerc. So, if I iron out these things, we're in a very different situation."
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Miami Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
04:00 PM
Sprint Qualification
08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
04:00 PM
Qualification
08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
08:00 PM
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
Fri 04:00 PM
Sprint Qualification
Fri 08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
Sat 04:00 PM
Qualification
Sat 08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
Sun 08:00 PM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 72 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 63 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 49 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 41 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 25 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 21 | |
7 | HaasHAA | 17 | |
8 | AlpineALP | 15 | |
9 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 12 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 10 |
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