Jacques Villeneuve believes that Kimi Antonelli has now won over the Mercedes team, and knows that George Russell must deliver in ’27
Has George Russell lost the backing of his Mercedes team? At least that is the view of former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who reckons that Kimi Antonelli has overtaken the veteran within the team: “It’s Antonelli’s team now,” the Canadian told Sky. “It’s no longer George Russell’s team, and it’s been that way for quite a few races now.”
Things looked very different at the start of the season. Given Mercedes’ strength and Russell’s performances in the previous season, he was considered the hot favourite for the championship title, a status he underlined with victory at the season-opener in Australia.
Since then, however, the tide has turned completely: Antonelli went on to win the next five races in a row and has now built up a lead of 81 points over Russell. Russell himself has managed to win just one race since the season opener – and that was in what has been the best car of the season so far.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, Russell does not see himself in the title race and intends to take it one race at a time – even though he emphasises that he will fight until the very end and give it his all. “He has no other choice,” says Villeneuve. After all, the upcoming races will also be decisive for the future.
The end of the season is important for next year
“If he just sits there now and says, ‘I’ll be happy with second place and let Kimi take the World Championship’, then that’s it for him,” he stresses. “He has to show that he’s ready to fight and try to take whatever he can get. Even if he doesn’t win the World Championship, he should at least make it as difficult as possible for Kimi to win it.”
Villeneuve makes it clear: “The key lies in showing just how tenacious and strong he can be when his back is against the wall.”
There have been plenty of examples of this in the recent past. Having already lost the 2015 championship battle against Lewis Hamilton by a clear margin in the fourth-last race of the season, Nico Rosberg went on another winning streak at the end of the season.
Although the title race had long since been decided on paper, the German won the last three races and followed that up with four more victories at the start of the 2016 season – laying the foundations for the Mercedes driver’s subsequent title win. “That’s already part of the preparation for the coming season,” says Villeneuve.
Baku: the decisive venue
Lando Norris found himself in a similar position to Russell last year when he arrived in Azerbaijan. Although he was only 31 points behind his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, by the time Norris retired at Zandvoort, the momentum clearly seemed to be on the Australian’s side.
Then, however, came Baku, where Piastri had a disastrous weekend and crashed into the wall on the very first lap – his first retirement of the year.
For Piastri, it proved to be a turning point for the worse, as he has not won a single race since – nor did he secure the 2025 title. “We’ve seen the impact that’s had at McLaren – and it all started with that very race,” said Villeneuve.
That is why Russell also knows that a strong performance in the upcoming races could set the tone, regardless of how the World Championship plays out. “If the season ends badly and he starts next year at a disadvantage because the team is no longer behind him, it will be extremely difficult to secure a seat in a good car or with a top team again.”
