Jenson Button believes Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are now in a “proper” fight for the world title after the latter clawed back points with his Austrian Grand Prix victory.
It was the first time since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that Russell had taken maximum points on a Sunday, with the Briton reducing his teammate’s advantage by 28 points in two races. The Briton, though, still trails Antonelli by 40 points.
George Russell closes on Kimi Antonelli in title battle
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Although Russell arrived on the F1 2026 grid as the pre-season favourite for the title, his teenage teammate took over at the front at the Japanese Grand Prix before racing out to a 68-point advantage over Russell, who dropped to third in the drivers’ standings in Monaco.
The Briton regained second place ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix, with his 25-point haul closing his deficit to Antonelli to 40 points.
Only twice in F1 history has a margin of more than 40 points – Sebastian Vettel in 2012 and Max Verstappen in 2022 – been overhauled.
But given Russell has taken 28 points out of Antonelli’s lead in two race weekends, Button reckons the Briton’s Austrian Grand Prix has upped the ante for both Russell and Antonelli.
“It’s good to see George take his first win for a long time,” the 2009 world champion told Sky F1.
“It’s been a long time coming, and I think it’s mentally a big help for him.”
Russell heads to the next race, the British Grand Prix, looking to become the first different British F1 driver after Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris to win at Silverstone.
Button, though, warned that the Mercedes driver won’t be gifted the win by his championship-leading teammate.
“I think when you look at Kimi’s speed, just every race he is there,” Button said. “And in Austria, he was less than two seconds from the win in a race that really didn’t go his way.
“His speed is undeniable, but then it’s the consistency, whether he can be consistent with putting laps together and wheel-to-wheel combat.
“George is obviously the more experienced driver in that situation.
“It’s good for us as fans, for the championship fight, that George got the win because it gives him confidence and it means that there’s a proper fight between him and Kimi now, especially at the British Grand Prix.
“I think it’s lining up to be a pretty epic weekend.”
“We’re going to have some very quick British drivers at the front of the field fighting for the podium,” he added.
Kimi Antonelli v George Russell: Mercedes F1 2026 scores
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
George Russell: I have a lot of confidence in myself
Back up to second in the championship and reinstated as Antonelli’s nearest rival in the championship, Russell says he heads to his home race confident that he can again take points off his teammate.
After all, he says, Silverstone is a track that suits his driving style even if he’s still trying to understand his W17.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself, knowing I can do it,” said the Briton.
“I have less confidence in being able to get everything aligned with the car, the set-up and the tyres, because it’s just been so up and down for me. And even this weekend, at points I was six-tenths behind Kimi, and then come Q3 I was two-tenths ahead. And I don’t honestly have a major answer for that.
“But those times where I managed to deliver the pole laps, the car and the tyres have felt more akin to last year, when I could deliver those performances every lap throughout a weekend. So, I’ll be working hard with my team to try and emulate that.
“It’s a track where you’re leaning more on the front tyres, ordinarily more of a front-deg track rather than a rear-deg track. We should be seeing some more normal temperatures. It was 60 degrees track temp at one point today. But this season has thrown so many unknowns.
“We may both go to Silverstone, have a great weekend. We may go there and Max could be on top. So, I’m just going in with an open mind.”
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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