Kimi is in control of title race and deserves to be, says Russell
Formula One F1 – Italian Grand Prix – Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy – September 6, 2026 Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli celebrates after winning the race with second placed Mercedes’ George Russell REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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MONZA, Italy, Sept 6 : George Russell accepted on Sunday that the Formula One championship was in the control of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli after the Italian won his home grand prix from 19th on the starting grid.
The win was the 20-year-old’s seventh in 13 rounds and sent him 66 points clear at the top.
“Definitely Kimi’s in control of it and he’s deserving to be in control of it,” Russell told reporters after starting and finishing second.
“For me personally, I’m not even thinking about a fight or a comeback or anything. I’m just focused on taking it race by race and trying to maximise every single weekend.
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“He’s performing incredibly well. It’s going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap, so I’m just sort of accepting that it is what it is and I’m just going to enjoy it from here on in and try and win as many races as possible.”
Only one driver has ever won from further back on the grid than Antonelli, the first Italian to win his home race since Ferrari’s Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 and first to lead the championship at Monza since Alberto Ascari took his second title in 1953.
Britain’s John Watson won the 1983 U.S. Grand Prix West at Long Beach, California, for McLaren from 22nd position.
Antonelli said he was still taking each race at a time, wary of changing fortunes.
“I don’t want to really look at it because we’ve seen in this season how things can change very quickly,” he said.
“There’s no point in thinking about the championship and we’ve just got to stay in the moment, present, and then take it race by race. And then we’ll see where we end up at the end of the season.”
The youngster said winning at Monza, with all the fans cheering, was a dream come true.
“I think this is the most special podium of the season. To see all the fans on the straight, it’s just incredible,” he added.
“The support has been great this weekend. So definitely seeing the grandstand cheering every lap, for sure it gave that little bit of extra to push more and to try and do even better to win it.”
Source: Reuters
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