Helmut Marko assessed Mercedes’ dominance for the 2026 Formula 1 season. In addition to seeing good car performance, he also pointed to Kimi Antonelli as a strong competitor to George Russell.
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After the first three races of the year, the German team is pulling away. George Russell secured victory in Australia, while Kimi Antonelli triumphed in China and Japan, giving no opening to opponents – furthermore, in the Shanghai Sprint, it was the Briton who also won.
With this, in this forced break in April, the young Italian leads the championship with a nine-point advantage over his teammate, and for Marko, the trend is for Mercedes to remain ahead in 2026.
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“Mercedes will dominate — that became clear as soon as they were able to run in clean air,” said the Austrian official.
“Kimi Antonelli was fast in all junior categories. Now he has more experience. If he doesn’t suffer a drop in performance, he will be a real challenge for George Russell,” he added.
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