Nico Rosberg: Duel between Antonelli and Russell “inevitable”

– Will 2026 come down to an internal Mercedes duel for the F1 World Championship? Currently, Kimi Antonelli leads the championship ahead of his teammate George Russell, and the Silver Arrows have so far claimed all four Grand Prix wins this year.

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Nico Rosberg knows from his own experience what such a situation feels like. From 2014 to 2016, he fought three consecutive years against his then Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton for the World Championship. Hamilton initially had the upper hand twice, then Rosberg in 2016.

During these three years, there were several contacts and even accidents between the two. A scenario that Rosberg can also imagine happening at Mercedes in 2026. “Of course, there will also be a duel between the two,” he predicts in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“We have already seen how close they are, and it is inevitable that it will happen, especially when it comes to the chance of a title,” explains the now 40-year-old from his own experience.

About Antonelli, who once raced for Rosberg’s team in karting, the 2016 world champion says he is “a phenomenon” and “one of the greatest talents” that “I have ever seen in karting together with Max Verstappen.”

Rosberg: Never doubted Antonelli’s qualities

“When he had difficult moments last year and some doubted his abilities, I kept saying: ‘Calm down, you have to give him time, this boy will make it.’ And that’s how it was,” emphasizes Rosberg.

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The 19-year-old recently won three Grand Prix in a row. Rosberg explains: “He is very much in the spotlight: In Italy, everyone fell in love with him, in Formula 1 he has already become a star, and that will be hard to handle.”

Photo gallery: Formula 1 drivers who won their first two races back-to-back

The teenager must therefore “be able to block out everything, not listen to or pay attention to what is said about him around him, focus on the season race by race, and wait to see how it goes,” says Rosberg.

“He is only 19 years old and no one has ever led the championship at such a young age before,” recalls the long-time Mercedes driver, who besides that has a simple piece of advice for Antonelli: “Keep driving like this!”

Rosberg emphasizes that there will certainly be “difficult moments” in 2026, especially since it is not yet certain “that the entire championship will be just a duel between the Mercedes drivers.” But it is also not excluded that it will come down exactly to that.

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