Mercedes Formula 1 team president Toto Wolff believes that driver George Russell is ready to become a champion, but young Andrea Kimi Antonelli still needs time.

“Nobody knows how much power the Mercedes engine will have in 2026. We don’t know what the other teams’ engines will be like either. Is Russell ready to take the championship if given the right car? 100%, absolutely ready. There is nothing to add here. He is ready to be champion.”

“Antonelli is only 19 years old. What kind of peak are we talking about? He can be at the peak after 3-5 seasons. I believe we should give him this time to gain experience.”

“It’s moving in the right direction,” Wolff said.

F1 will have new technical regulations on engines and aerodynamics from the 2026 season.

Haas driver and Ferrari development program graduate Olliver Berman said his goal is to race in the Scuderia in the future and win victories with the red car.

The Briton was already racing for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he replaced Carlos Sainz due to appendicitis. He has since made significant progress at Haas and will remain with the team at the start of the new season.

Berman congratulated Isak Hajar on his promotion to Red Bull and said:

“Yes, of course I’m a little jealous that he will be fighting for high results in a team like Red Bull. But I’m sure my time will come, too, and I’m very happy for that. We’ve been racing since Formula 3 and he has shown incredible talent and speed. It’s great that the new generation of drivers are being recognized and now both Kimi and Isak are in the top teams. That’s great. All you have to do is wait for your chance and it will definitely come.”

Berman said about his dream of competing for the Scuderia:

“This is definitely my dream. It motivates me to do my best and I get up every morning to do my best in everything I do. I want to perform in the red. I want to win in the red. That’s my life goal. I’ve been lucky enough to feel it once already and I know what it feels like, so I try to get back to that regularly.”

The official website of the championship, where Formula 1 described Aston Martin pilot Fernando Alonso as the “unluckiest” at the end of the 2025 season, announced the alternative awards.

The season has been quite difficult for the two-time world champion star. Alonso failed to complete the first two races in Australia due to an incident and in China due to brake problems. What followed was a series of finishes outside the points, including technical failures, poor timing of the safety cars and several 11th places.

The Spaniard, who finished the Imola Grand Prix in 11th place, summarized the situation emotionally as follows:

“We are very unlucky, everything is going wrong for us this year.”

Alonso earned his first points in Spain, the ninth stage of the season. Overall, he finished 2025 in the top 10 11 times, collecting 56 points and entering the top 10 in the driver rankings. The best result was fifth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso had no podiums this season.