George Russell snubbed as Bernie Ecclestone names two F1 title contenders
Bernie Ecclestone has remarkably ruled George Russell out of the 2026 F1 title race.
Bernie Ecclestone has written off George Russell’s chances of winning the 2026 Formula 1 world championship, and whittled down the title contenders to two drivers.
Mercedes has been the dominant force so far in 2026 and the Silver Arrows continued its unbeaten streak thanks to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s third consecutive victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Italian has moved 20 points clear of team-mate Russell in the championship standings after the opening four rounds in which he has seized early control and momentum in the title battle.
But former F1 supremo Ecclestone does not view Russell as a championship challenger, instead believing the fight will ultimately boil down to Antonelli or Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“Antonelli or Verstappen will be world champion,” the 95-year-old told Swiss publication Blick.
"Red Bull has apparently overcome the slump. Max has caught fire again – and then he’s dangerous.”
Four-time world champion Verstappen sits seventh in the championship on 26 points after a difficult start to the campaign which has left the Dutchman 74 points adrift of Antonelli.
Red Bull brought an upgraded car to Miami that revived Verstappen and significantly improved the team’s performance, but it would still take some turnaround for Verstappen to emerge as a title contender from here.
However, history suggests that Verstappen should never be written off. After all, last season Red Bull transformed its season in the second half of the year as Verstappen clawed his way back into the title race.
Following the Dutch Grand Prix in late August, Verstappen found himself 104 points off the lead.
Verstappen remarkably reduced that gap down across the next eight grands prix and sprint races to take the championship to a three-way showdown at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale.
He would ultimately miss out on a fifth consecutive world championship by just two points to McLaren’s Lando Norris, despite winning the last three races.
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