MONTREAL -- George Russell has said the 2026 world championship is Kimi Antonelli's to lose after a retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix saw him drop 43 points behind his Mercedes teammate in the F1 drivers' standings.
Russell was leading the race in Montreal when a failure in his car's power unit forced him to stop on lap 30, handing the victory to Antonelli who was running second.
The result extended Antonelli's winning streak to four races while compounding the bad luck Russell has experienced this year, including an issue that impacted his qualifying performance in China and the unfortunate timing of a safety car in Japan.
Although there are still 17 Grands Prix and three sprint races remaining this season, Russell, who started the season as the favourite, said it no longer felt like the title race was in his hands.
George Russell has said that the Drivers' Championship is currently in the hands of his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. Photo by Sam Bloxham/LAT Images
"Right now it's his [Antonelli's] to lose," Russell said.
"So many points ahead, it feels like the gods don't want me to be in this fight when I look at the safety car timing in Japan, breaking down in China Q3, fighting for pole, breaking down from the lead here today.
"But the pressure is off, I'll go out and enjoy every single race, try and win every single race, and I've got nothing to lose.
"I don't want to be stood here talking like that, and of course I'm frustrated and want to be in that fight ... Hopefully the luck turns."
Russell and Antonelli traded positions multiple times in Canada before Russell's issue struck and forced him to retire.
The battle followed a similar fight in Saturday's sprint race in which Antonelli had to take to the grass to avoid a collision with his teammate, leading to talks within the team over their rules of engagement.
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Russell said he enjoyed Sunday's scrap with Antonelli and likened it to the famous fight between former Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix.
"I mean, I loved it -- I thought it was great," Russell added. "I've not had a battle like this in years.
"I haven't seen a battle like this probably since Lewis and Nico in Bahrain in 2014. And these new cars allow you to do that. These new engines allow you to do that.
"I don't know why anybody wants to change them. Because we had amazing battles in Melbourne. We had great battles in China.
"Kimi and I have had a great battle today and yesterday, and that's only possible because of how these power units are. So, yeah, that's why."
