Kimi Antonelli arrives at the Monaco GP this coming weekend in a privileged position in the fight for the 2026 Formula 1 title. For Juan Pablo Montoya, the young Mercedes driver is currently better positioned internally than his teammate, George Russell, to fight for the championship.
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The assessment comes after an impressive streak by the Italian, who secured his fourth consecutive win in Montreal and opened a 43-point lead at the top of the standings. Consistent performance throughout the season has put Antonelli in a comfortable position in the championship.
According to Montoya, the progress shown by the Mercedes driver compared to last year is evident. Besides the speed demonstrated on the tracks, the Italian has been able to regularly turn performance into results, a characteristic that has been fundamental to his campaign.
On the other side of the garage, Russell has faced a more complicated sequence. The Briton missed the podium in Japan and Miami, in addition to suffering a technical problem that ended his race while he was fighting for the win on one of his favorite tracks on the calendar.
As a result, Russell already has a significant disadvantage to his teammate. Although more than two-thirds of the season remains, the current scenario is quite different from what many imagined before the start of the championship.
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In an interview with a betting site, Montoya stated that Antonelli seems better prepared to handle the pressure of the title fight: “I believe Kimi is more suited to fight for the championship because he is bolder in this aspect. He is not like George, who has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Part of him may be wondering: ‘What did I do to deserve all this bad luck?’ For these reasons, I think Antonelli is in a better position,” said the Colombian.
Despite this, the former F1 driver believes the fight is far from decided. In his view, the upcoming calendar stages tend to favor Russell’s characteristics, which may allow a reaction from the Briton in the coming weeks.
Montoya highlighted, however, that the Mercedes driver will need to seize every opportunity to reduce the gap in the championship: “In five weekends we will be at Silverstone, and it will be interesting to see their progress. Many of the upcoming races should favor George, but he needs to make the most of the opportunity,” he added.
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