Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrives in Montreal 20 points clear of George Russell and on a three-race winning streak that even Mercedes did not see coming. Jenson Button, working as a paddock pundit on Sky Sports F1 ahead of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, used his preview appearance to point at the one thing still holding the 19-year-old back.
Button said Antonelli has been "really impressive" through his opening run of victories but stopped well short of declaring him bulletproof. The 2009 world champion suggested the wins came with the kind of fortunate breaks every young driver needs, and that the genuine indicator of Antonelli's level is what happens between the lights going out and the first corner.
"The first win, the second win, there was a little bit of luck involved, which we all need as racing drivers," Button said. "But he capitalised on that and showed his pace. And the last race in Miami, yeah, really impressive because he was on the back foot a little bit with being behind Lando Norris at the start of the race. But that came through and his pace at the end of the race again was extremely impressive."
Then came the qualifier. "I still think there's a lot of improvement that can be made with his race. He's struggling at the starts, he's losing places every race. When he gets that right, yeah, he seems like he'll be unstoppable."
That is the part Toto Wolff will have heard loudest. Antonelli has lost positions off the line in three consecutive Grands Prix and recovered each time, but the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve does not always allow for a clean recovery drive. The opening sprint corner on lap one in Montreal is one of the busiest braking zones of the year, and the run down to the hairpin punishes any driver who has to defend from outside the top three. If Antonelli loses a place at the lights, his afternoon could be set before he has even started racing.
Button was equally pointed about what Russell brings into the weekend. Mercedes' senior driver won this race last year and has openly framed Montreal as a track that suits his style after admitting Miami did not. Button said Russell's transparency around that has been a strength rather than a weakness.
"With George, the way he's been so open with the media is really positive," Button said. "I think he's showing confidence where he said Miami, it's not a track that suits my driving style. Whereas the other tracks, the smoother tracks where I can be precise, they work for me. One of those tracks is definitely Montreal."
Button framed it as a deliberate piece of self-positioning, noting that Russell rarely faced this kind of intra-team pressure during his Hamilton years. Three straight weekends watching his teammate win is unfamiliar territory, but Button argued Russell is using the press room to reset rather than retreat.
For Antonelli, the math is simpler. Three wins, 20 points in hand, and one habit to fix. If Mercedes' rookie can finally nail a clean launch on Sunday afternoon, Button's prediction of an unstoppable run might stop sounding like a hypothetical and start sounding like a forecast.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/jenson-button-antonelli-start-weakness-canada-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
