"It's like being asked to paint the Mona Lisa" – Why George Russell is struggling to match Kimi Antonelli's pace

Pulse Sports Team 09:05 - 17 July 2026

Not everyone can paint, but even if you're a talented artist, could you imagine recreating the world's most famous artwork down to the smallest detail?

That's precisely the challenge George Russell feels he's facing in the 2026 Formula 1 season. When Mercedes emerged as favorites under the new regulations, so too did Russell, who last year decisively outperformed his teammate Kimi Antonelli in the latter's debut season.

However, with the Italian's progress in performance and overall development as a driver, Russell has sometimes struggled with the new machinery. It's reached a point where Antonelli now leads the drivers' standings, having won five consecutive races in China, Japan, Miami, Canada, and Monaco – an achievement previously only managed by world champions.

Of course, Russell has also had his share of bad luck on Sundays, particularly when he retired from a leading position due to an electrical failure in Montreal and was a victim of the pit lane speeding penalty drama in Monaco. The fact remains, however, that Antonelli is the faster driver in qualifying, albeit not by much. The 19-year-old leads his more experienced teammate 7-6 (including sprint qualifying sessions), with an average gap of just 0.084 seconds between them in the final segment of those sessions. This gap, however, doesn't reflect the full picture, as in most cases, one Mercedes driver is three to four tenths faster than the other – and more often than not, that's Antonelli.

Following the British Grand Prix, where he again underperformed compared to his teammate, Russell was adamant that there were "things to improve" on his part. When asked by motorsport.com to elaborate, he stated frankly: "Just to be faster, honestly, it's as simple as that.""The good thing is I haven't left any difficult weekend confused about where the pace is. It's all so clear in the data. Sometimes it's so obvious that Shov, our chief engineer [Andrew Shovlin], almost calls it a car problem – it's so clear in the data and can be resolved.""Whereas in the past, I've seen with other drivers or previous teammates that if they're off the pace, they're scratching their heads trying to figure out why. I know exactly why, if I don't win or I'm not on pole position, it's clear from the data why that is and what I need to do to improve it. And when I am on pole position, it's clear why that is.""So it's not a question of suddenly forgetting how to drive one day and remembering the next. I'm just not managing to get the car into its optimal window. Last year, I felt I had a very high success rate in terms of how often I could extract the full potential from the car, the setup, and the tires together with my engineers. This year, that percentage is much lower. And that's exactly what I'm working on to make it more consistent."

Russell's difficulties in finding the optimal window are partly linked to the fact that, according to him, for the first time in his career, he has to deviate from his ideal driving style. The new F1 machinery is different from last year's in every respect – smaller, more agile, with energy management being paramount. As a result, instead of driving instinctively, he now has to think and sometimes mimic what his teammate does when the latter is faster – and that's a tough task.

"It's like someone asking you to paint the Mona Lisa, and the Mona Lisa herself is standing next to you. Do you think you'll succeed immediately?" Russell asked rhetorically. "Perhaps with practice, you will.""And with these new power units, with these new tires, with these new cars, I'm having to set up the car in a way that doesn't suit my driving. I'm having to drive in a way I haven't driven throughout my career. And I have to adapt to that.""I know exactly what I need to do. But to go out and achieve it, after 20 years of driving in a certain way that has worked for 20 years, and now suddenly it works 50% of the time, and the other 50% it doesn't... I'm trying to recognize: 'Okay, will my normal way work this weekend? Or do I need to adapt my approach? If I need to adapt it, how do I do it? And how do I do it and be fast?'""Because when I've performed at my best, I've just driven subconsciously, without even thinking about driving. And now I have to think, trying to turn these new techniques into subconscious ones. And that's the challenge.""Everyone here is at the top of their game, and that brings us back to the conversation with [Charles] Leclerc and some of the challenges he has. It doesn't make much sense – one day we're so competitive, and the next we're not."

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