Mercedes’ championship celebration ran through only half of the garage. Antonelli, 20, finished third on Sunday and sealed the drivers’ title with four races still to run. His team-mate crossed the line sixth and did not appear in front of the microphones afterwards.

Russell had started from second on the grid with the pace to win, Wolff told Sky Sports. An energy deployment issue off the line killed the launch, and a collision with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar brought a 10-second penalty that dropped him to sixth. By the time Wolff found him on the FIA scales, his race was gone and his season was no longer a title fight.

Wolff described the scene plainly.

“For a racing driver, this is a catastrophic moment,” he said to Sky Sports.

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Russell was excused from post-race media duties, a decision Wolff backed as understandable given the state he was in. Mercedes were handed a €5,000 FIA fine for the no-show. The sixth place also dropped Russell from second to fourth in the drivers’ standings.

He still went to find Antonelli

Before leaving the circuit, Russell made his way to Antonelli and congratulated the Italian in person.

“It was a great show of sportsmanship to go and see Kimi,” Wolff told Sky Sports.

Russell had entered 2026 as Mercedes’ established lead driver and an early title favourite. The season has instead belonged to Antonelli, who became the youngest driver in history to win the F1 title and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

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Verstappen won the race, Antonelli won the year

The race itself went to Max Verstappen for Red Bull, who held off Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari in a late fight for the win. Antonelli’s podium behind them was all the championship arithmetic needed.

Four rounds of the 2026 calendar are still to run.

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