'It's psychological' - Martin Brundle issues warning to George Russell about Mercedes F1 team-mate Kimi Antonelli

George Russell needs to beat Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix for a “psychological” gain, according to Martin Brundle.

Russell was the clear favourite heading into 2026 but finds himself 20 points down on surprise championship leader Antonelli, with the 19-year-old Italian seizing early control in the title race after winning three of the opening four races.

Antonelli secured his third consecutive victory last time out in Miami and Brundle believes Russell must strike back at a circuit he dominated at last year in order to halt his teenage team-mate’s current momentum.

"There's a long way to go. There's 482 points available in this championship," Brundle told Sky Sports News.

"I don't think the points deficit is that much of a problem for George Russell. For example, last year in Canada, Lando Norris had a clumsy accident with his team-mate Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, and that looked like he'd hurt his championship chances, then he goes on to become world champion.

"This is only our fifth Grand Prix of the season, and it's going to be a challenging one. It's the first Sprint in Canada. It's going to be cold. It might be wet on race day. It's going to be quite the challenge.

"George needs to stop Antonelli in his tracks and get a few points back against him, but I think it's more psychological than the mathematics.”

Reflecting on the impressive start to the season Antonelli has made, Brundle added: "He's been mighty, his speed, his consistency. He kept his head under pressure in Miami.

"George Russell struggles in Miami, but is very strong in Canada, so Kimi will have a bigger fight on his hands across the garage and a lot of teams are bringing upgrades. But, Kimi's raw pace and consistency has been super impressive.”

Mercedes is bringing its first major upgrade package of the 2026 season to Montreal, after seeing its rivals such as McLaren make impressive gains to close the gap in Miami.

"These are brand-new regulations, and it's going to be the story of the season with teams flip-flopping around with incredible changes and improvement as they learn all about the biggest change we've had in the history of Formula 1,” Brundle said.

"Mercedes are pretty confident. They're not going to put stuff on the car that's slower, so we'll just see where they all stand. It's a different track layout completely to Miami, lots of long straights and slow corners and chicanes."