George Russell may face a significant change within Mercedes in the current Formula 1 season. For Ralf Schumacher, Kimi Antonelli’s accelerated growth is already starting to put the Brit under pressure, to the point that the former driver believes Russell risks taking on the role of the team’s second driver soon.
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The assessment comes amid Antonelli’s excellent start to the championship, with four consecutive wins and appearing as one of the main title contenders in 2026. Meanwhile, Russell is experiencing the opposite after a promising start to the season, losing ground in the championship battle in recent races.
Even before the start of the current season, Mercedes was seen as the favorite for the constructors’ title, while Russell emerged as one of the strongest names for the drivers’ championship fight. However, Antonelli’s performance changed the internal scenario of the German team after just five rounds.
After a debut season marked by ups and downs in 2025, the young Italian has shown greater consistency and maturity this year. Besides the already known speed, Antonelli has managed to turn performance into results, opening a 43-point lead over his teammate and consolidating his position among the title contenders.
Russell, on the other hand, has not been able to maintain the pace after his win in Australia. The Brit finished off the podium in Japan and Miami, as well as suffering a retirement in Canada due to technical problems, a result that directly affected his championship chances.
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During an appearance on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher stated that Russell still has enough quality to compete at a high level, but believes that the future within Mercedes may end up favoring Antonelli if the Italian maintains his current progression.
“In terms of potential, George definitely has it. But from my point of view, he will probably have to deal with the fact that, in the long term, he should become the team’s second driver if Kimi continues like this. That also needs to be said,” the German said.
Schumacher also highlighted that the situation can still change depending on the development direction of the Mercedes car. According to him, certain updates may favor one driver more than the other, something common in Formula 1 teams: “At the moment, Kimi is only in his second season, he is evolving brilliantly and will still improve more. And I believe George is more or less at the peak of his career. In that sense, I don’t think there is much more performance for him to unlock,” he added.
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