Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship in the 2026 Formula 1 season, with a 50-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton in second place, but Toto Wolff avoids treating him as the favorite for the title. The Mercedes boss remains cautious given the number of races remaining and the reliability issues faced by the team.
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Antonelli built much of the lead with a streak of five consecutive wins between China and Monaco. Even so, the advantage could be greater, as the Italian faced reliability problems in Barcelona and England while chasing Ferrari drivers in conditions that seemed favorable.
When asked about the championship battle, Wolff preferred not to make predictions: “It’s too early to say,” said the executive, before explaining his stance: “I’m superstitious. Even with the 50-point difference, there are still many races ahead. One or two retirements can change everything enormously, and we haven’t been good on reliability,” he said.
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The Austrian highlighted that Mercedes needs to stay focused on each stage of the weekend to turn the current advantage into championship results: “We just need to keep maximizing every day, from Friday to Sunday, and then, I hope in the end that will be enough,” he added.
Reliability can also cause consequences within Mercedes itself. George Russell, in third place, is 59 points behind Antonelli and also had problems, such as the failure suffered in Canada during the battle for victory between the two drivers. In addition, the team is considering the possibility of grid penalties for using additional components in the power unit, with Monza and Baku among the options considered by Wolff.
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