Marko’s dismissal of Russell is the sharpest individual takedown of the 2026 season. Speaking in the build-up to the race in Austin, the former Red Bull advisor said the Briton had already been overtaken within his own team and would not get a second chance at the sport’s biggest prize.
“It’s certainly a huge mental setback and a blow. Russell is no longer the number one driver. That position has clearly been taken over by Antonelli,” Marko said, according to gpblog’s coverage of his German-language interview.
“I doubt whether he will ever have another chance at the world championship or whether he will achieve number one status anywhere.”
Russell has stopped talking about a fight
Russell, 28, began the year as the Mercedes favourite after outscoring Antonelli as a rookie in 2025. Six races from the end of 2026, he is 102 points behind the Italian and no longer framing the campaign as a contest.
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“Definitely Kimi’s in control of it. He’s deserving to be in control of it,” Russell said.
“For me personally, I’m not even thinking about a fight or a comeback or anything. I’m just focused on taking it race by race and trying to maximise every single weekend.”
The Austin equation
Antonelli can be crowned at the Circuit of the Americas, but the maths is tight. He leads Russell by 102 points and Lewis Hamilton by 111 going into the race, with 150 points available across the final six rounds.
To clinch in Austin, Sky Sports’ permutations show three conditions must line up at the same time:
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- Antonelli wins the race
- Russell finishes ninth or lower
- Hamilton finishes fifth or lower
A victory lifts Antonelli to 365 points, and if Russell scores no more than two points and Hamilton no more than ten, the Italian would be out of reach with 125 points left to play for.
Vettel’s record in the firing line
A title in Texas would make the 20-year-old the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, breaking the mark Sebastian Vettel set in 2010 when he won the first of his four straight titles aged 23.
Marko, who worked with Vettel at Red Bull, told oe24 he had no issue with the record changing hands.
“A world champion is a world champion, and he’s lost a few records. That’s just how it goes in motorsport,” Marko said.
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He was less generous about the man in the other Mercedes. Antonelli, Marko argued, had done more than beat Russell on points.
“He’s a deserving world champion. He clearly dominated him. He had some luck with the safety car and technical issues, but that evens out over a season.”
If Antonelli does not clinch in Austin, the title fight moves on to Mexico City on 1 November.
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