George Russell arrives at the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1 next weekend still alive in the championship fight, but Jolyon Palmer believes the Mercedes driver is in a better position than his performance justifies. For the former F1 driver and current commentator, Russell has been benefited by the problems faced by Kimi Antonelli throughout the season.
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The difference between teammates is only 25 points before the Spa-Francorchamps round, which means Russell can equal the Italian’s score this weekend. Still, Palmer pointed out that Antonelli has won five races in 2026, against only two for the Brit, and has consistently shown superior performance.
In the commentator’s assessment, the mechanical problems suffered by the young Italian had a direct impact on the championship fight. Antonelli retired when he was in second position at the Barcelona GP due to a battery failure and also lost a practically secured victory at the British GP after a problem with the wheel protector. According to Palmer, these setbacks cost the young Mercedes driver at least 36 points.
Furthermore, Palmer considers that Russell has not yet shown the same decisive ability demonstrated by his teammate. The former driver compared the current scenario to last season, when Oscar Piastri dominated the first half of the championship before losing form, while Lando Norris grew in the final phase and became champion.
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For Palmer, a similar change can still happen in 2026, as long as Russell manages to raise his level of performance: “At this moment, he is lucky to be only 25 points behind, considering the level of performance he has shown,” he said during the F1 Nation podcast.
The Brit also recalled that Antonelli was harmed by factors beyond his control, but believes that this type of situation tends to balance out over the season: “Obviously, he was unlucky. As a driver, you expect these things to even out during the year. If the car keeps breaking down, maybe he won’t win the title, but that’s out of his control,” he added.
To conclude, Palmer highlighted what Russell needs to do to stay in the fight for the championship title this year: “It all depends on Russell finding his best performance again and repeating performances like the win in Melbourne, when he looked like the old George Russell again,” he concluded.
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