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Jacques Villeneuve watched the Canadian Grand Prix closely and came away with a view that is harder to dismiss than simple praise. Antonelli is currently faster than Russell, winning races, and leading the championship. He is also, Villeneuve argues, making errors that could easily have cost him dearly.
The Speed Is Undeniable
Villeneuve was straightforward about the performance gap between the two Mercedes drivers. "The difference between the two is interesting to watch. Antonelli is simply faster than Russell right now and honestly that has been the case for a while. He drives more aggressively, seeks the limit more, and brakes much later."
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The 1997 world champion saw the same qualities that have produced four consecutive wins also carrying a genuine risk. "He also makes a lot of mistakes. Because he is constantly on the edge, it sometimes nearly goes wrong. In Canada he came close to hitting his teammate when braking for the chicane."
Something Champions Have in Common
What strikes Villeneuve is not the speed or the errors in isolation but the combination of both alongside what he describes as an almost implausible amount of good fortune. Every time Antonelli overdoes it or makes a mistake, it seems to resolve itself without a significant cost.
"What Antonelli has working for him right now is that typical luck of champions. Even when he overdoes something or makes a mistake, things still seem to fall his way." He was also clear that this is not entirely random. "He is often just over the limit, but somehow it works for him. And those are very often exactly the drivers who ultimately end up winning races and championships."
The observation is one that cuts both ways. Drivers who live this close to the limit tend to either become champions or have a single costly incident that changes their season. Villeneuve has seen both outcomes from this exact type of profile. Which one Antonelli ends up being will define whether 2026 is remembered as the beginning of a dynasty or the year a teenager got very close.
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