Antonelli evaluates how much he's stepped up in second F1 season as he explains where Russell still has the edge

Kimi Antonelli believes he has made a "big step" in performance compared to his rookie season in Formula 1, with the Mercedes youngster currently topping the Drivers' Championship standings following back-to-back Grand Prix wins.

Last year, Antonelli arrived in the sport as an untested 18-year-old, replacing Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton, and impressed immediately by becoming the only rookie to finish a treacherous wet Melbourne race.

He justified team boss Toto Wolff’s decision to promote him to a full time race seat with the Silver Arrows, but it was not always smooth sailing for the Italian throughout his debut year in F1. A series of accidents, poor Qualifying performances and reliability woes contributed to a mid-season slump before Antonelli rallied late on to bag two podiums in the last four races of 2026.

That form has stepped up another gear in 2026 with Antonelli winning two of the opening three Grands Prix, as Mercedes look to have established themselves as the team to beat amid the new regulations introduced this season.

“Big step [from 2025 to 2026],” Antonelli said following his win in Japan when asked how much he has levelled up after his rookie year.

“Experience does a lot. Obviously last year I’ve gone through a lot and it taught me massively more than what I anticipated, and for sure it’s helping so far this year. Of course there’s still a lot of work to do, but I definitely feel much more in control of the situation.

“The car helps, and I’m going to try to be ready and everything because it’s one of those opportunities that doesn’t happen every day. So obviously really, really grateful with the car that the team has provided us so far, and I just need to keep my head down.”

Mercedes are the in-form team so far in 2026, winning all three Grands Prix and the Sprint that have been held. Antonelli finished second behind team mate George Russell in the season-opener in Australia, before those positions were reversed in China.

He then won in Japan, with Russell finishing off the podium in fourth, which gives the youngster a nine-point lead in the Drivers' Championship – the Italian is also the youngest driver to ever lead the F1 standings.

With the Mercedes duo expected to be involved in more battles for victory as the season goes on, watching the intra-team battle unfold looks set to be one of the key storylines in 2026. But Antonelli believes he still has some work to do to match his more experienced team mate.

“For sure it helps that everyone started from zero, but definitely I’ve been closing the gap with [Russell],” Antonelli added.

“I think still in Qualifying he has the upper hand, especially when it comes to Q3. He’s always able to find that little bit of extra, which I’m working on. But in terms of race pace, I think we have a really strong base.

“I feel he’s obviously a super, super strong, very complete driver. I think he showed many times last year, and that’s why it’s not going to be easy, and that’s why I need to do everything as perfect as possible.”

Whether Antonelli can keep hold of his championship lead remains to be seen, but F1 next heads to Miami for the fourth round of the season – a venue where the Italian out-performed his team mate last season.