Toto Wolff reveals George Russell found it 'difficult to cope' with Kimi Antonelli 'reality' earlier in 2026 Formula 1 season
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed George Russell "found it difficult to cope" with Kimi Antonelli's performances earlier this year.
Russell went into 2026 as favourite for the Drivers' Championship but Antonelli stunned his team-mate by winning five consecutive races in the opening quarter of the season.
Following an engine failure in May's Canadian Grand Prix, Russell was only on the podium twice until the August summer break but has been much stronger in recent races, underlined by his lights-to-flag victory last time out in Baku.
That win cut Russell's championship deficit to 66 points to Antonelli ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
In a wide-ranging interview with Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle, which airs on Sunday morning ahead of lights out at 8am in Malaysia, Wolff says Russell was in "rocket mode" in Azerbaijan but has faced tough moments at times this year.
"He gets down. He's someone that's very emotional in a different way to an Italian driver as an example. They've all been different, the drivers that we had in the team," said Wolff.
"He gets down and it's difficult to cope, particularly when you have a 19-year-old coming into the team and it looks so easy.
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"Kimi is a natural that is able to capture an audience and then this is the season you have to deliver [if you are Russell] - you are the candidate for winning the championship.
"Suddenly things are different. Your team-mate is so competitive, which you kind of, rationally get but it came as a surprise how competitive he was.
"I think George is in a place where that is the situation. He has a 20-year-old teammate that is one of the best rookies that has ever been.
"He needs to fight him to beat him. I think he has now settled into this reality of 'this is going to be really hard because he's so good'. That I think we kind of figured out together."
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A Mercedes driver will almost certainly win the Drivers' Championship for the first time since Lewis Hamilton's record-equalling seventh world title in 2020.
Wolff says both Russell and Antonelli have needed his support over the last two years but his experience of handling the challenging dynamic between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg between 2013 and 2016 helps him now.
"I'm 10 years older with 10 years more experience, with a different line-up. Today we have two proper Mercedes juniors," he said.
"George has been with us since he was 17, Kimi since he was 11. That's very different to Nico and Lewis that joined the team pretty much before I did, so the difference is to really leave no situation not discussed.
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"What is it we're going to do if that happens? What are we going to do if that doesn't happen? While acknowledging, at the same time that as a team, we can't control everything. The moment the lights go green, they drive the car, but we do what we want to do it in the best possible way for themselves and for the team. Fundamentally, it's all about talking through the scenarios before."
Russell, 28, and Antonelli, 20, are in different stages of their F1 careers and Brundle asked Wolff if it would be better if the Italian won because it would be more beneficial commercially.
Wolff said: "It's a difficult one to say because obviously I need to look after the interest of the team and the interests of the team and its philosophy depends on how we are running this. What is the mindset that we're having here? I can never, and the team would never, favour a driver. First, how would you even technically do it?
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"But the point is, if I do that, I would lose my own conscience in this. We've never brought an upgrade before the other guy had it didn't over the last 10 or more years. They are both given same opportunity. May the best man win.
"If it's George it is a story to George Russell won his first championship. If it's Kimi then it's a different story. It's this amazing super kid that won his first championship."
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Saturday October 35.15am: Bahrain GP Practice Three (session starts at 5.30am)*8am: Bahrain GP Qualifying build-up*9am: BAHRAIN GP QUALIFYING*
Sunday October 46.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Bahrain GP build-up*8am: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX*10am: Chequered Flag: Bahrain GP reaction*
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Malaysia for the first time since 2017 as it hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit - watch Sunday's race at 8am (build-up from 6.30am), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
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