Antonelli vs Russell: The Mercedes Teammate War in Data
Data current to Round 17 (Singapore Grand Prix)
Mercedes has the best car of 2026 and the two drivers at the top of the championship. Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 102 points and could win the title in Austin this weekend. But does the points gap reflect how close the two Mercedes teammates really are?
The data gives a clear answer. Over one lap, Antonelli and Russell are almost level. In races, it’s a different story.
The Headline Numbers
After 17 rounds:
- Points: Antonelli 340, Russell 238
- Wins: Antonelli 8, Russell 3
- Podiums: Antonelli 14, Russell 8
- Starts from pole: Antonelli 6, Russell 5
- Retirements: Antonelli 1, Russell 3
- Average grid position: Antonelli 4.2, Russell 4.1
- Average finish (excluding retirements): Antonelli 3.5, Russell 5.0
The average grid positions are almost identical, but the average finishes are 1.5 places apart. Most of the teammate battle is decided on Sunday.
Qualifying: Almost Nothing in It
Over one lap, this is one of the closest teammate pairings on the grid. Across all qualifying sessions, including Sprint Qualifying, The Race’s count has Antonelli ahead 12–10, with an average gap of just 0.085 seconds.
The starting grid tells the same story. Antonelli has started ahead in 9 Grands Prix and Russell in 8. That count is affected by penalties and incidents:
- Monza: An engine penalty put Antonelli 19th on the grid. He still won.
- Baku: Antonelli crashed in qualifying and started 16th.
- Singapore: Russell started 19th after an engine change.
Take those out, and the qualifying battle is very close to even.
How far Antonelli has come
This is a very different picture from 2025, Antonelli’s rookie season. According to F1’s own analysis, Russell was an average of 0.293 seconds faster over one lap that year, the biggest gap between Mercedes teammates since Rosberg and Schumacher in 2011. Russell also beat Antonelli in 21 of their 24 races.
In one season, Antonelli has turned a three-tenths deficit into a small advantage, at a time when the new 2026 rules forced every driver to relearn how to drive the car.
Race Day: Where the Title Gap Was Built
In Grands Prix, Antonelli leads the head-to-head 12–5. Round by round:
- Russell ahead (5): Australia, Barcelona, Austria, Britain, Azerbaijan
- Antonelli ahead (12): China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco, Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Bahrain (Sepang), Singapore
The results show three things.
1. Antonelli wins when he starts at the front. Five wins in a row from China to Monaco built his championship lead. When he started from pole or second, he usually won.
2. Antonelli recovers from the back. At Monza, he went from 19th on the grid to the win. In Baku, he went from 16th to fifth. Drives like these show strong race pace even when he isn’t in clean air at the front.
3. Russell has lost big points to retirements. He retired from the lead in Canada with a technical problem, did not finish in Belgium, and his car stopped late at Sepang while he was running third. Those three races alone cost him roughly 50–60 points. Antonelli has retired only once, in Barcelona, where he broke down but was still classified 16th.
The Sprints are different
The Sprints are the one format Russell has won. He has finished ahead of Antonelli in four of the six Sprint races this year. Over a short race with no pit stops and less tyre management, his speed over one lap carries through.
Bad Luck or Real Gap?
Russell has had worse luck. The Canada, Belgium and Sepang retirements, plus the Singapore engine penalty, are mostly out of his control. But Antonelli has had setbacks too. He retired in Barcelona (classified 16th), damaged an aero part at Silverstone (15th), took a grid penalty at Monza and crashed in Baku qualifying.
If you take out the worst weekend for each driver, Antonelli still leads clearly. RaceFans reached the same conclusion at the summer break: Russell has had somewhat worse luck, but not enough to explain the points gap, and Antonelli leads “on merit”.
Reports have also pointed to a specific weakness for Russell. At Silverstone and Spa, he was noticeably slower on the straights. Under 2026 rules, straight-line speed depends on how well a driver deploys energy, so differences in energy use through a lap can show up as lost speed at the end of the straights. Our Overtake Mode and energy deployment guide explains why.
Who’s Getting More Out of the W17?
On one-lap speed, the two Mercedes drivers are effectively equal. The difference comes in everything that happens after qualifying: race starts, tyre management, recovering from the back, and avoiding costly mistakes.
That’s why Antonelli leads the championship. He isn’t much faster than Russell. He has been more consistent at turning his speed into results across a full race weekend. Russell has a better record in the Sprints, and over a single lap he is as fast as Antonelli. But in the Grands Prix, Antonelli has been the more complete driver this season.
How to Compare Them Yourself
To check the race pace for yourself, compare their lap times stint by stint, not just the final results. Our guide to calculating true qualifying gaps and race pace explains how to remove traffic, Safety Car laps and tyre offsets so the comparison is fair.
You can then:
- Compare their head-to-head season stats in our Teammate Wars tool.
- Load both drivers’ laps into the Interactive Telemetry Viewer to see where on the lap the time difference comes from.
What’s Next: Austin
This weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, Antonelli can win the title. He needs to win the race, with Russell ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower. Our title math breakdown covers every scenario, and the Championship Standings update live through the weekend.
FAQ
Who is faster, Antonelli or Russell? Over one lap, they’re almost level. Antonelli leads the 2026 qualifying head-to-head 12–10, with an average gap of 0.085 seconds. In races, Antonelli leads 12–5.
How many wins do Antonelli and Russell have in 2026? After 17 rounds, Antonelli has 8 wins and Russell has 3.
Why is Antonelli so far ahead in the championship? Mostly because of race-day performance and reliability. Russell has had three retirements, including one from the lead in Canada, while Antonelli has had only one. Antonelli also leads the race head-to-head 12–5.
Who won the head-to-head in 2025? Russell, comfortably. He was 0.293 seconds faster over one lap on average and finished ahead of Antonelli in 21 of their 24 races.