Kimi Antonelli heads towards his home Italian Grand Prix at Monza as the clear focus of attention inside Mercedes, with Riccardo Patrese arguing that the young Italian has now established himself as the stronger driver compared with George Russell. The former Formula 1 race winner believes George Russell must accept that he is currently the team’s number two as Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 Drivers’ Championship.
Few would have imagined at the beginning of the season that Kimi Antonelli would arrive at Monza leading the championship by 59 points over both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who are level in second place. Instead, the 20-year-old from Bologna has firmly established himself as the title favourite and appears to be drawing an increasing amount of Mercedes’ attention towards his championship challenge. The latest Formula 1 driver standings underline the scale of Kimi Antonelli’s advantage heading into his home race.
Kimi Antonelli heads to Monza as Mercedes’ title leader
The internal Mercedes battle has become one of the central themes of the season. According to several observers, Toto Wolff’s decision to impose a team order in Kimi Antonelli’s favour at Zandvoort represented an important turning point, at least for the remainder of 2026.
George Russell now risks being pushed into a supporting role, particularly if the championship threat from Ferrari and McLaren becomes more serious. Mercedes’ Dutch Grand Prix strategy already showed how the team is increasingly prepared to prioritise its championship leader, with Kimi Antonelli receiving strategic preference over George Russell at Zandvoort.
Riccardo Patrese calls George Russell Mercedes’ number two
Riccardo Patrese has no doubts about where the balance of power currently lies inside Mercedes. Patrese remains the most recent Italian driver to finish a Formula 1 World Championship inside the top two, having ended the 1992 season as runner-up to Williams team-mate Nigel Mansell.
Speaking in an interview with sports betting website Betpack, Riccardo Patrese openly described George Russell as Mercedes’ “number two” driver.
“As far as the championship is concerned, it will be very difficult to beat Kimi Antonelli because he has a good points margin and he doesn’t make mistakes, he drives with his head. Reliability can also be a factor, but looking at the situation now, Kimi Antonelli is the favourite for the championship.”
Riccardo Patrese believes the situation will be particularly difficult for George Russell to accept given his own ambitions within Mercedes.
“All of this is very difficult for George Russell to accept, I’m sure, but the fact is that Kimi is beating him at the moment. In your head you always think you can hang on and then improve, but at the moment the reality is that every time both cars are performing at their maximum potential, Kimi is stronger than George Russell.”
The assessment comes after a season in which the gap between the two Mercedes drivers has increasingly become part of the championship discussion. Earlier in the campaign, questions were already being raised over whether George Russell’s deficit to Kimi Antonelli could affect Mercedes’ Constructors’ Championship campaign.
George Russell may need to consider his Mercedes future
Riccardo Patrese also addressed the driver-market speculation that had repeatedly linked Max Verstappen with Mercedes before the Dutchman renewed his Red Bull contract through to 2030. In Patrese’s view, that development will have been a relief for George Russell, but it does not change his current position relative to Kimi Antonelli.
“George Russell will be happy that Max Verstappen signed with Red Bull, but he has to accept being the number two at Mercedes,” Riccardo Patrese said. “If there are movements in the future, he could consider a new opportunity, because if he doesn’t like being the number two there, maybe he thinks he can become number one somewhere else.”
Riccardo Patrese also acknowledged how uncomfortable the earlier Max Verstappen speculation must have been for George Russell.
“When there was all that speculation about Max Verstappen, it can’t have been easy for him. Max is a driver everyone would like to have,” the Italian concluded.
For now, however, the immediate focus is Monza and Kimi Antonelli’s first home Italian Grand Prix as Formula 1 championship leader. His 59-point advantage over George Russell and Lewis Hamilton has transformed the internal Mercedes dynamic, and Riccardo Patrese believes the hierarchy is already clear: Kimi Antonelli is the title favourite, while George Russell must decide how to respond to being placed in the supporting role.
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