"It's his to lose" - George Russell gives honest verdict on F1 title chances after latest setback

George Russell admits the 2026 Formula 1 title is Kimi Antonelli's to lose after he was forced to retire from the Canadian Grand Prix over the weekend.

Antonelli grabbed another pole position in Montreal live on Sky Sports to open up a massive 43-point lead over Russell after just five events of the season.

Russell started in pole position ahead of his Mercedes teammate on Sunday, as the two drivers jostled for first place throughout a captivating race.

However, their duel was cut short on lap 30, when a power unit failure forced the British racing driver off the track and unable to finish the race. It marked the first time Russell had not finished a race since the British Grand Prix two years ago.

Even though we are still early into the season, Russell already feels like his hopes of winning the F1 title are vanishing in the shadow of his teammate.

"I mean, right now it's his to lose," he admitted to Sky Sports after the disappointing end to his Canadian Grand Prix.

"It's so many points ahead. It feels like... the gods don't want me to be in this fight - when I look at the safety car timing in Japan, breaking down in China Q3 [while] fighting for pole, breaking down from the lead here today.

"But pressure's off. Go out, enjoy every single race, try and win every single race - and I've got nothing to lose, so I don't want to be standing here talking like that. It is, of course, frustrating and I want to be in that fight. Hopefully, the luck turns."

Russell relishing Antonelli battle

It was a sorry end to an exciting weekend, with Russell and Antonelli locked in a fierce battle. The Italian twice found himself on the grass and demanded that his teammate receive a penalty for a 'naughty manoeuvre', before Antonelli was even asked to relinquish pole position to his rival.

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Antonelli was beaten to pole position during a disrupted sprint qualifying session, with Russell edging him by just 0.068 seconds after a lengthy red-flag stoppage following Fernando Alonso's crash.

There was a brief handshake between the two drivers at the end of the race before they took their place on the podium.

"I loved it. I thought it was great. I've not had a battle like this in years," Russell added.

"I haven't seen a battle like this probably since Lewis [Hamilton] and Nico [Rosberg] in Bahrain 2014. And these new cars allow you to do that. These new engines allow you to do that.

"I don't know why anybody wants to change them - because we had amazing battles in Melbourne, we had great battles in China, Kimi and I have had a great battle today and yesterday - and that's only possible because of how these power units are.

"So, yeah, that's my viewpoint."

Watch every race live with Sky Sports

Sky are currently running an offer that allows existing Sky TV customers to add the Sky Sports F1 channel for just £15 a month, on a 31-day rolling contract.

The races are coming thick and fast as F1 heads to Europe, with the Monaco GP next up on June 7 before the Barcelona and Austrian GPs later in the month. We then head to Silverstone and the much-anticipated British GP on July 5, before trips to Belgium and Hungary.

And it’s not just about the races themselves, of course. Sky Sports F1 is the only place you can watch every F1 practice and qualifier live.

You’ll also benefit from behind-the-scenes access, exclusive interviews and world-class analysis, both on a race weekend and in standalone shows like The Notebook with Ted Kravitz and The F1 Show.

On top of all that, Sky Sports customers can also stream any of the F1 action live from their phone or tablet via the Sky Sports app.