Nico Rosberg believes that a clash between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell is now inevitable, as the young Italian prodigy continues to put enormous pressure on his teammate.
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After Miami, Antonelli now has a 20-point lead over Russell in the championship thanks to an exceptional start to the season.
The young driver has already secured his first three wins in Formula 1 — all achieved from pole position — a record-breaking performance in the history of the sport.
Advice to Toto Wolff
The situation is becoming increasingly delicate for Russell, who had approached the 2026 season with the ambition of finally becoming the undisputed leader of Mercedes after the departure of Lewis Hamilton. Officially, Mercedes states that the relations between the two drivers remain calm and professional.
But Rosberg, who himself experienced an explosive rivalry with Hamilton at Mercedes, believes this harmony will not last forever: “Of course a clash between them will happen,” the German told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We can already see how close they are, and it is inevitable that it will happen, especially if a world title is at stake.”
Rosberg believes that the head of Mercedes, Toto Wolff, must anticipate the situation to prevent the rivalry from escalating as it did between Hamilton and himself: “When things happen on track, they must be managed off it. This is more of a piece of advice for Toto Wolff. He needs to sit down with them, discuss everything, and know in advance how to react when certain conflict situations arise.”
Antonelli compared to Verstappen
Rosberg has not stopped praising Antonelli, whom he directly compares to Max Verstappen: “A phenomenon. He raced in my junior karting team and is one of the greatest talents I have ever seen in karting, alongside Verstappen.”
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The former world champion also recalled that he had always defended Antonelli when some still doubted him after a few difficult moments the previous year.
“Last year, when he was going through tough times and some doubted his abilities, I kept saying: ‘Calm down, he needs time, this boy will make it.’ And that is exactly what happened.”
His advice to the young Italian is now very clear: “Just keep driving like that. Then, he will have to be able to block out the outside noise. Not listen to or watch everything being said around him. Focus on the season, race after race.”
Russell criticized by Glock
On his side, former F1 driver Timo Glock believes that Russell himself worsened his difficulties in Miami by delaying his reaction to the settings used by Antonelli.
“If I am behind all weekend and realize that my teammate is using a different differential setting, then I have to try it as early as Friday or at the latest Saturday,” Glock told Sky Deutschland. We know exactly what the other driver is doing. Russell needs to react earlier if he is conceding on average four tenths of a second per lap. ”
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