{
  "id": 9883567,
  "title": "Russell wary of Antonelli threat despite dominant Baku pole",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/russell-wary-of-antonelli-threat-despite-dominant-baku-pole",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-26T01:46:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/motor-sports/2026/09/1541381/russell-wary-antonelli-threat-despite-dominant-baku-pole"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "BAKU – George Russell has not ruled out Kimi Antonelli as a threat to his victory hopes in the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite starting from pole and leading the championship by 16th place. The Mercedes driver acknowledged that Antonelli's recent performance, including a pole position in Monza and his win at his home Italian Grand Prix earlier this month, should have put him ahead by several laps. However, Antonelli's qualifying crash earlier in the Azerbaijan weekend has left him 81 points behind Russell in the standings after 14 races. Russell has been feeling confident and describing his connection with the Mercedes car as more intuitive, while Antonelli has been making up for lost time due to issues with his car and lost practice time.",
  "summary": "BAKU: George Russell refused to rule out Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli as a threat to his victory hopes in Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite the Briton starting from pole and the championship leader 16th after a costly qualifying crash.",
  "key_points": [
    "Russell wary of Kimi Antonelli's threat despite pole position.",
    "Antonelli's recent performance should have put him ahead by several laps.",
    "Antonelli's qualifying crash leaves him 81 points behind Russell."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}