Bernie Ecclestone has whittled down this year\u2019s title contenders to a battle of two, and no, they are not both Mercedes drivers.<\/p>\n
Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell hold down the 1-2 in the Drivers\u2019 standings after four race weekends, with the Italian 20 points ahead of his teammate.<\/p>\n
Verstappen and Antonelli set for world title duel, Ecclestone declares<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Antonelli<\/a> became Formula 1\u2019s youngest-ever championship leader when he edged ahead of Russell at the Japanese Grand Prix, before extending his advantage with a victory in Miami.<\/p>\n That Sunday, the 19-year-old became the first driver in F1 history to convert his first three grand prix pole positions into race wins.<\/p>\n He also, according to former F1 supremo Ecclestone, stamped his authority as Mercedes\u2019 driver for the world championship.<\/p>\n But the 95-year-old doesn\u2019t believe Antonelli will have it all his own way, not after Miami.<\/p>\n F1 2026: The season\u2019s winners and losers<\/p>\n The results of the F1 2026 championship <\/a><\/p>\n The F1 2026 Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 Championship standings<\/a><\/p>\n As Mercedes\u2019 rivals laid down their markers with their first big upgrades of the F1 2026 season, Red Bull brought seven new parts to the track and entered the championship fight.<\/p>\n Having been at least eight-tenths down in the opening qualifying sessions of the season, Verstappen was just 0.166s slower than Antonelli in qualifying on the Saturday and could\u2019ve fought for a podium result were it not for his spin on the opening lap.<\/p>\n Despite the spin, an early pit stop, and a 50-lap run to the line on the hard tyres, Verstappen still finished the grand prix in fifth place.<\/p>\n Ecclestone believes that was just the beginning for Verstappen, who will take on Antonelli for the F1 2026 world title.<\/p>\n \u201cAntonelli or Verstappen will be world champion,\u201d he insisted to the Swiss newspaper Blick.<\/p>\n \u201cRed Bull has apparently overcome the slump. <\/p>\n \u201cMax has caught fire again \u2013 and then he\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Last season, Verstappen overhauled his 104-point deficit to Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix to beat the McLaren driver to P2 in the standings by 11 points. He fell just two points short of a record-equalling fifth successive world title.<\/p>\n Verstappen sits 74 points behind Antonelli after four rounds of the F1 2026 championship.<\/p>\n To date the Dutch racer has only overturned a 46-point deficit to win a title, doing so in 2022 against Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n