George Russell’s current Mercedes struggles alongside Kimi Antonelli are something Felipe Massa can relate to.

When it was widely rumoured that Mercedes had a strong racecar heading into 2026, many expected George Russell to race to his first Drivers’ World Championship.

However, with six Grands Prix remaining this season, it is Kimi Antonelli who boasts a 102-point advantage in the standings. He is now weeks (or potentially days) away from becoming F1’s youngest-ever champion, while Russell finds himself scrapping to hold on to P2.

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George Russell is repeating Felipe Massa’s mistake

There has been a power shift at Mercedes this season. Antonelli is no longer being viewed as the young, apprentice to Russell. In just his second year in the sport, Antonelli is set to beat the Briton.

Rob Smedley, a former Ferrari engineer, has drawn similarities between the situation of Russell and that of Felipe Massa at Ferrari in 2010.

Speaking on High Performance Racing, Smedley said: “When he [Massa] came back and he had been in a coma and been out for three months, I don’t think there was anything different to him physically as a driver. 

“What changed was that he left a team where he was universally loved, because he was doing very well: In 2008 he beat Kimi [Raikkonen] fair and square, in 2009 he was beating him again. In Ferrari, if you are the driver who is leading, everyone gets behind you.

“But when he came back, he came back into a team which was no longer his. It was Fernando’s. Fernando does what Fernando always does which is gain a stronghold within that team. Fernando is very good anyway, but there was a little bit of the effect that we have between George and Kimi [Antonelli] this year.

“Kimi has done well, but George overthinks what Kimi is doing, and then what that does is pull George back a bit and the gap keeps growing and growing. Because George is overthinking it and concentrating on Kimi, and Kimi is free in the mind and doing what he wants to do. That is what happened [between Massa and Alonso].”

Should Mercedes prioritise George Russell or Kimi Antonelli in 2027?

Antonelli will head into 2027 as the reigning champion, and Russell will surely be eager to prove that he can climb back above the young Italian in Mercedes’ pecking order.

Martin Brundle has already claimed that Mercedes prefer Antonelli to win over Russell.

Russell has been waiting a long time to be the lead driver at Mercedes, including a patient spell with Williams and then his time learning under Lewis Hamilton.

When the chance finally came with a championship-winning car, it was his younger teammate who truly grasped the opportunity.

It will be up to Toto Wolff to manage the team balance in 2027 as both drivers will be pushing to be the ‘number one’ of the team. The harsh reality is that it will be Antonelli racing with the number one on his car.