Russell says F1 title loss 'tough to deal with' after Antonelli clinches crown in Mexico
George Russell said his struggles in the 2026 season had been "tough to deal with" after Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli clinched the Formula 1 drivers' title at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, and the Briton publicly congratulated Antonelli on his championship. Russell posted on Instagram, calling Antonelli's campaign "absolutely incredible" and saying the Italian "truly deserved the championship".
Russell began the year as a favourite and won the opening race, but Antonelli built momentum through the season as Russell encountered a run of poor results. Russell has won three races to Antonelli's nine this year. His sixth-place finish in Mexico, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finishing first and second ahead of Antonelli, left Russell fourth in the drivers' standings while Verstappen moved up to second ahead of Hamilton.
At the Mexico race Russell had started second behind Hamilton but suffered an energy deployment glitch off the start that left him down on power and vulnerable to rivals. A subsequent misjudgement saw him hit Red Bull's Isack Hadjar at Turn Six, tipping Hadjar into a spin, and Russell was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident.
After the race Russell was close to tears while being weighed, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he saw Russell at that moment and permitted him to miss his post-race media obligations. Wolff said: "I saw George after the race on the FIA scales. And obviously, he's distraught about the situation. It was a great show of sportsmanship to go and see Kimi. "I have known George for such a long time. And I know, for a sportsperson, he's going through a hard time, but he was also responsible in getting the young man into this team. "And so I'm very much with him at the moment. I've been in situations where he's very, very difficult to cope. So him not doing the media work or leaving the track is absolutely understandable. Him staying would have actually surprised me. So that's absolutely on. Yeah, we said he can go."
In his Instagram post Russell reflected on the season's reversal of form, writing: "Now feels like a pretty suitable moment to speak from the heart." He added: "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." He also thanked his team for "producing the best car and power-unit this season" and called it "inspiring to see everyone coming together over four tough years to bring Mercedes back to the top".
Antonelli acknowledged Russell's difficulties and praised his speed and potential in a post-race comment: "Definitely I think he has had also bad luck at some point in the season. He said a little bit more than me, being honest. "But still he will definitely come back. He's super-quick. He has shown this season that when he's on it, he's very hard to beat. So it's just about, on my side, keep focusing on myself, keep trying to raise the bar, keep improving, keep developing because it's not going to be only a matter of George at the end of the season. "Also for next season Red Bull, especially with Max, Ferrari and McLaren eventually, we're all going to be up there and it's going to be a tight fight so it's going to be important to be on top of the game, not only against my team-mate but against also all the others."
Russell concluded his post with a promise about his immediate plans, writing: "Now all I can promise is that for the rest of this season and into the next one I will be giving my absolute all to rediscover the performance I have been capable of for the majority of my career and fingers crossed a little bit of luck returns."