Kimi Antonelli believes Mercedes team-mate George Russell has the momentum in the 2026 Formula One title race, heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

Russell held off Max Verstappen in a thrilling finale to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out, with Antonelli finishing fifth after starting the race from P16.

It marked the British driver's first race win since the Austrian Grand Prix and saw him cut Antonelli's lead at the top of the drivers' championship down to 66 points.

Russell has claimed a total of eight victories in his F1 career, three of them in 2026. This is already the season in which he has recorded the most wins in his career (two in both 2024 and 2025), as well as the most pole positions (five – four in 2024).

While Antonelli insisted he will learn from his mistakes in Baku, he conceded Russell now has more confidence heading into the run-in.

"Last weekend was probably the worst weekend for me, from my side of the season," said Antonelli.

Kimi and George are in KL with @PET_Motorsports  pic.twitter.com/4ReSx9xqjP

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 30, 2026

"But still, very good learning from the weekend, and it was also a very strange race for me in Baku because it was one of those races where I consciously tried not to take any risk and just drive under the limit, which was very weird but good.

"The most important thing is that I always need to be 100%, and I need to really do my best to achieve the best result, because if I don't do everything right, or I don't try to do everything right in my power, then nothing is going to come my way.

"For sure. He [Russell] had an incredible weekend in Baku and he's got the momentum, but on my side, it was definitely the worst weekend of the season for me.

"But obviously I learned a lot from it and I’m really excited and looking forward to this weekend, because I think it's going to be a big opportunity to score big points.

"Of course, the mindset is always the same: to go out there and win, but for sure George has been doing great, especially last weekend, and it's going to be a tough challenge, but I’m looking forward to it."

The Bahrain Grand Prix, which will be held in Malaysia, will become the fourth grand prix named after a country to be staged outside its borders in F1 history, after San Marino (in Italy), Switzerland (in France) and Luxembourg (in Germany).

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

Antonelli has led at least one lap in 13 of the 15 grands prix held in 2026, a tally surpassed among drivers who have never won the championship only by Oscar Piastri in 2025 (15/25) and Charles Leclerc in 2022 (14/22).

Mercedes have also had at least one of their two drivers finish on the podium in each of the first 15 races of 2026.

They have only recorded a longer streak at the start of a season once before: 19 in 2014. Should they do so again at Sepang, they will enter the top eight for the longest such streaks, equalling Williams’ run of 16 in 1993.

Max Verstappen – Red Bull

Although the last race at Sepang was held in 2017, then under the banner of the Malaysian Grand Prix, 10 drivers on the current grid competed in that final race in Kuala Lumpur, with Verstappen winning.

Nine years on, Max is back in the Sepang paddock #F1 || #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/hL8ScnHBLK

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 1, 2026

The Dutchman is also in impressive form; Verstappen has either finished on the podium or retired in each of the last eight Formula One races, securing six podium finishes during this period.

Since the Austrian Grand Prix, only Antonelli (six) has recorded as many podium finishes as Verstappen.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers'

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 302

2. George Russell (Mercedes) – 236

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 199

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 186

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 179

Constructors'

1. Mercedes – 538

2. Ferrari – 378

3. McLaren – 306

4. Red Bull – 263

5. Racing Bulls – 83