What does Antonelli's improvement mean for Russell? F1 Q&A
Following an enforced five-week break, the Formula 1 season resumed with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli taking his third consecutive victory from pole position at the Miami Grand Prix. The 19-year-old Italian now leads team-mate George Russell, who struggled for most of the weekend and finished fourth, by 20 points in the title race. In the sprint event, world champion Lando Norris became the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race this season in the upgraded McLaren.
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions. With Kimi Antonelli now showing his talent, and being a protege of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, what does this mean for George Russell? - Gary The start of the 2026 Formula 1 season has not been easy for George Russell.
He entered the year as championship favourite, and four races in he is looking at a 20-point deficit to his team-mate Kimi Antonelli. That is clearly not a comfortable situation for Russell, but it's no reason to panic. Russell was open in admitting a number of times in Miami that he was struggling at the track, and said on Sunday: "It was a very tough race.
The pace was really, really poor on my side. " There is no question that Antonelli had a decisive advantage over him all weekend. But that has not been the case at any of the previous races.
Russell probably would have been on pole in China, were it not for a series of car problems in qualifying . In Japan, the timing of a safety car in Japan handed victory to Antonelli and worked against Russell , who otherwise was on course for at least second place. There is certainly a case to be argued that, having suffered those problems, his race craft was not as clinical and decisive as it might have been in both those grands prix.