MUMBAI: In 2019, when George Russell was in his rookie year in Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli was barely out of his teenage years, although he was already starting to show promise as he climbed up the karting rankings. Fast forward to 2026 and a fascinating story unfolds on the track, with two racers at the heart of the plot. It is not the experienced Russell who leads the F1 drivers’ championship, but his Mercedes team-mate Antonelli, still a teenager, who leads Sunday’s British Grand Prix with a 40-point lead. Watching a young hotshot step into the spotlight where you might well have thought you’d have it yourself by now, especially in a sport as unique as F1, can be a self-bruising experience. If that’s the case with Russell, fellow Brit and former F1 champion Damon Hill could easily feel the same way. “As a driver, if you’ve been with a team for many years, there are two ways of looking at it. Either you become part of the team or you feel at home,” Hill, who won the title with Williams 30 years ago, told a group of reporters on a conference call on Friday. “When a driver is in a team, they cannot think that they are the primary focus of that team. They will bring in a new driver and if that driver gives them better performance, then loyalty and interest will shift to the other driver. “So the thing about being a racing driver in our sport is that you’re not really part of the team. When you’re there, you’re part of the team, but you still have to prove yourself to other people. So you’re constantly fighting to establish yourself.” Unless, as Hill explained, you have a situation like Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing. “(Max) was able to maintain his prominence in the team until teams started looking at him. That’s a lot more difficult for a team like Mercedes. And when you have someone who suddenly comes along like I did during the season with David Coulthard, it’s difficult,” Hill recalled. “I’m fighting Michael Schumacher In ’94, fighting for the title, I would have had David Coultard in and out, taking points away from me or Nigel Mansell. “I kept saying to the team, ‘How do I beat this? I’m the one who stays here for the rest of the season to fight Michael Schumacher for the title and you keep throwing in wild cards like Nigel Mansell and David Coultard who also have to race but they’re only there for a short period of time’. “It doesn’t seem like a good move strategically to me, but it’s very disturbing.” What’s the only way to deal with it? Prove you’re the better driver, Hill said. “If that person is getting attention for doing great things and getting results, the only answer is, you just have to be better than them. “They knew the deal, but if they hired someone better, you might feel betrayed,” the 65-year-old said with a laugh. In what is about to be a title battle between two drivers from the same team for the second consecutive season, Hill believes the 19-year-old Italian will win. “I think the favorite is Kimi because he has the gear. Mercedes has been the most consistent and he has the points advantage. And I think he’s still on the learning curve. So George has a mountain to climb to control him. I’m not saying he can’t do it, but I think from what I’ve seen, this guy is something else. So we’ll see,” Hill said. (Fans can watch the British Grand Prix exclusively on FanCode)
