George Russell has described his 2026 Formula 1 season as "tough to deal with" after Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli secured the drivers' championship. Russell, who won the opening race and started the year as title favorite, struggled as Antonelli built an insurmountable lead, ultimately winning nine races to Russell's three.
Russell's Instagram Post
In a heartfelt Instagram message, Russell congratulated Antonelli on "an absolutely incredible season" and acknowledged the Italian "truly deserved the championship." He wrote: "This season started off exactly how I had hoped but it very quickly unravelled with tough luck and poor performances. It's been the first proper season of my career where I've had more bad days than good. Has it been tough to deal with? Yes, very. Has it been tough to pick myself up week in, week out? Yes, very. Confusion at times? Often. All I know is that I've given it my all and 2026 was not meant to be my year."
Mexico City Grand Prix
The Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday highlighted Russell's difficulties. Starting second behind Lewis Hamilton, a glitch in energy deployment left him down on power at the start, and he later collided with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, earning a 10-second penalty. Russell finished sixth, dropping to fourth in the championship as Max Verstappen moved up to second ahead of Hamilton.
Team Reaction
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff excused Russell from post-race media duties after seeing him distraught on the FIA scales. Wolff praised Russell's sportsmanship in congratulating Antonelli and said: "I know, for a sportsperson, he's going through a hard time, but he was also responsible for getting the young man into this team. I'm very much with him at the moment."
Antonelli's Perspective
Antonelli acknowledged Russell's bad luck and expressed confidence in his teammate's return: "He's super-quick. He has shown this season that when he's on it, he's very hard to beat." The Italian champion emphasized the need to keep improving ahead of a competitive 2027 season involving Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren.
