Mercedes was tipped to dominate F1 2026, but few predicted Kimi Antonelli would emerge as the early title favourite.<\/p>\n
A potential key shift was felt at Suzuka. \u201cHe might be leaving as the championship favourite,\u201d said McLaren\u2019s Zak Brown of Antonelli<\/a> ahead of Japanese GP Sunday. Antonelli, arguably, proved Brown right.<\/p>\n Zak Brown teased Kimi Antonelli as \u2018title favourite\u2019<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Antonelli went from pole to a maiden grand prix win in China, repeating that feat next time out in Japan.<\/p>\n There was the help from Safety Car after the Italian\u2019s \u201creally stupid\u201d clutch error<\/a> dropped him to sixth at the start. But, Suzuka was arguably Antonelli\u2019s best race weekend yet in Formula 1.<\/p>\n Even before that, he\u2019d earned pre-race plaudits from Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri, in his first grand prix start of the season for McLaren, followed Antonelli across the line, 13.7 seconds behind.<\/p>\n Speaking to Channel 4 after qualifying, Brown said: \u201cCongratulations to Kimi. He might be leaving this weekend as the championship favourite.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s doing a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimi Antonelli the title favourite?<\/p>\n A strong case can be made that Antonelli has usurped his teammate George Russell as the F1 2026 title favourite.<\/p>\n He has replaced him at the top of the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a>, establishing a buffer of nine points ahead of Miami.<\/p>\n If we look back to Shanghai, Antonelli may have won the race, but doubts remained over how he truly stacked up against Russell.<\/p>\n Continuing the theme from Melbourne, Russell had been a step ahead until his Q3 gremlins struck. Antonelli was there to pick up the pieces, scoring pole for the Chinese Grand Prix, and scampered away while Russell was slugging it out with the Ferraris.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, George has had the upper hand a little bit,\u201d said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after the Chinese Grand Prix, \u201cand we didn\u2019t see a real lap in qualifying yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd also today, he was clearly on the back foot, and it never came to a head-to-head situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Something changed at Suzuka, though. Antonelli was the one with the upper hand on Russell. Even if we were again cost a pure race comparison between the Mercedes pair, this shift in itself, was significant.<\/p>\n Suddenly, Antonelli gave people a genuine reason to consider him, at the very least, a potent threat to Russell\u2019s title hopes.<\/p>\n More Japanese GP reaction from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Japanese GP conclusions: Dodgeball on wheels, Verstappen\u2019s rampage, Russell\u2019s Norris test<\/a><\/p>\n Japanese GP 2026 driver ratings: Piastri surge, Bearman crash, and Alonso\u2019s quiet performance<\/a><\/p>\n What does Kimi Antonelli think of the title talk?<\/p>\n Like Brown, Antonelli also spoke into the Channel 4 microphone at Suzuka.<\/p>\n Confirmed as a back-to-back and two-time grand prix winner, Antonelli was asked whether he is starting to feel like a genuine F1 2026 title contender, having won two of the three grands prix held so far.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I mean, I know it\u2019s a possibility,\u201d he confirmed, \u201cbut I know as well that I need to keep raising the bar, keep raising my game.<\/p>\n \u201cGeorge is going to be back. Competitors are going to get closer.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I need to, on my side, do everything perfectly in order to guarantee and put myself in the best position as possible.\u201d<\/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