George Russell has dismissed rumors of preferential treatment from Mercedes in favor of his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. According to the Brit, that also stands in the way of the team’s main goal: “There are two thousand people in the team, and they all get a bonus if we win the constructors’ championship.”
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George Russell started the 2026 season as the favorite for the title, but it is now his younger teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli who leads the championship. After Russell’s second place in Silverstone, the gap between the two Mercedes drivers has been reduced to 25 World Championship points. Both drivers came to the Silver Arrows through the team’s development program, but with an important difference: Kimi Antonelli was allowed to take a seat in F1 immediately with Mercedes, while Russell first had to ‘mature’ at Williams.
‘It is not true’
Rumors of preferential treatment from team principal Toto Wolff towards Kimi Antonelli have been circulating for some time. “I have heard through the grapevine that there is talk of preferential treatment (of Antonelli, ed.),” Russell responded to the Daily Mail. “It doesn’t bother me – and it is not true either. If I were younger, I might have wanted to refute those accusations.”
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It also comes into play that employees at Mercedes only receive a bonus if the team wins the constructors’ championship. “There are two thousand people in the team, and they all get a bonus if we win the constructors’ championship,” Russell continues. “So why would there be preferential treatment? Kimi and I are allowed to race each other, unless the team’s main goal – achieving the maximum number of points for the championship – is at risk.”
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