Formula 1 heads to Baku this week for an unusually early Azerbaijan GP weekend, with all of the on-track action shifted forward by a day. Free practice begins on Thursday, qualifying takes place on Friday and the grand prix itself will be held on Saturday. The change was requested because Azerbaijan marks Remembrance Day on Sunday, September 27. Kimi Antonelli arrives in Baku firmly in ... Keep reading
George Russell is being forced to "rewire his brain" as he struggles to consistently match his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, according to former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard. Russell was considered one of the favourites for the 2026 title heading into the season, but after winning the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese sprint race, he watched on as his teenage team-mate took the ... Keep reading
From being the 2026 Formula 1 pre-season title favourite to fighting to hold on to second place as Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli accelerates into the distance, George Russell has endured a challenging few months. During that period he has been forced to question his entire approach to driving, owing to the peculiar requirements of the latest technical formula. Most of the drivers on the ... Keep reading
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli tells BBC Sport how he is "still finding my way" in F1 after a 2024 crash "stayed in my head for a very long time".
BBC2h ago
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli is showing "zero sign" of feeling the championship pressure as he closes in on his maiden title, according to former F1 driver and F1 TV pundit Jolyon Palmer. Following his eighth victory of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Italian driver concluded the European leg with an impressive 81-point lead in the standings. His Mercedes team-mate George ... Keep reading
Former IndyCar Series driver and F1 TV pundit James Hinchcliffe has declared Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's 2026 Formula 1 championship hopes "over" following a costly retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix. The seven-time champion suffered a brake issue at the brand-new Madring circuit. As a result, he now sits 101 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the standings and 20 points ... Keep reading
Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes four-time champion Max Verstappen will fail to win a single grand prix during the 2026 F1 season, arguing that Red Bull's package is not competitive enough. Verstappen currently sits sixth in the standings with 145 points, 147 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The Dutchman's best results so far this year have been ... Keep reading
Guenther Steiner has backed Lando Norris to overtake George Russell for second place in the 2026 Formula 1 drivers' championship. Following the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit, Norris sits fourth in the drivers' standings with 186 points. Mercedes' Russell is second with 211 points, and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli currently leads with 292 points. Speaking on The Red ... Keep reading
Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has warned that the organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit must urgently change the track's layout for 2027. The inaugural 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid drew widespread criticism from drivers, fans and pundits following a processional race that featured virtually no overtaking. While Kimi Antonelli secured his ... Keep reading
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has praised George Russell for admitting that his Mercedes team-mate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli is doing a better job. Antonelli secured his eighth victory of the season at the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit, extending his lead in the standings to 81 points over Russell, who sits second. Russell, meanwhile ... Keep reading
Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff deserves credit for taking a gamble on Kimi Antonelli. After seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton decided to part ways with Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025, the Brackley outfit was faced with deciding between signing another experienced driver and putting its support behind an up-and-comer. When Wolff opted to ... Keep reading
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has branded current championship leader Kimi Antonelli a "phenomenon", dismissing claims that the Mercedes driver's success is down to luck. Antonelli, who is currently in his second season in the series, took the lead of the drivers' standings after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. In the first half of the season, he claimed six ... Keep reading
With eight or nine race weekends remaining – depending on what happens with the grands prix in the Middle East at the end of the year – Kimi Antonelli is in pole position to claim his maiden Formula 1 world title, which would also see him replace Sebastian Vettel as the youngest world champion ever. Following Antonelli’s victory in Madrid, team-mate George Russell can no longer become ... Keep reading
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has explained how the team prepares its drivers for situations like the one that decided the Spanish Grand Prix - including the use of secret codes that may have helped Kimi Antonelli make his Formula 1 race-winning pitstop. After being alerted to the yellow flags for Lance Stroll's stopped Aston Martin, Antonelli backed off significantly ... Keep reading
Kimi Antonelli could become "more and more panicked" in his bid for the 2026 Formula 1 championship if upgrades from McLaren and Ferrari drag him back into the pack, warns 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver currently holds an 81-point advantage in the standings over his team-mate George Russell, who sits second. He extended his lead with a victory at the inaugural Spanish Grand ... Keep reading
For better or for worse, there seems to be no slowing down Kimi Antonelli. Just ask Pete Bonnington, who channelled his inner schoolteacher in Madrid as he relentlessly had to remind the 20-year-old Italian to pay attention to track limits. Having benefited from an earlier virtual safety car on a circuit where overtaking proved impossible, all Antonelli had to do was to keep it clean until ... Keep reading
For better or for worse, there seems to be no slowing down Kimi Antonelli. Just ask Pete Bonnington, who channelled his inner schoolteacher in Madrid as he relentlessly had to remind the 20-year-old Italian to pay attention to track limits. Having benefited from an earlier virtual safety car on a circuit where overtaking proved impossible, all Antonelli had to do was to keep it clean until ... Keep reading
Toto Wolff is confident that George Russell can overcome a bruising 2026 Formula 1 campaign and still become world champion in the future. The Mercedes driver is second and 81 points behind his dominant team-mate Kimi Antonelli with just nine rounds remaining, meaning a maiden crown for the 20-year-old is a matter of time. It comes despite Russell entering 2026 as the heavy title favourite ... Keep reading
There’s no doubt everything fell perfectly into place for Kimi Antonelli to win Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix. The virtual safety car triggered by Lance Stroll’s retirement came at the perfect moment, changing the course of a race that, until that point, had seemed destined to end with victory for Lando Norris. Having already passed the pitlane entry by the time the VSC was deployed ... Keep reading
Sebastian Vettel says he will be “very happy” for Kimi Antonelli to beat his record as Formula 1’s youngest world champion. Vettel earned the accolade in 2010 at 23 years, four months and 11 days old, beating Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 record by five-and-a-half months. Antonelli is increasingly likely to win this year’s title at just 20 years of age, with his Spanish Grand Prix victory ... Keep reading