​Andrea Kimi Antonelli throws back at George Russell and states that he will re-establish the order in F1 Bahrain GP after a learning Azerbaijan GP weekend for him.From the outset, Mercedes’ Antonelli found it hard going in F1 Azerbaijan GP, when teammate Russell found it a bit better. The Italian’s weekend eventually unraveled in qualifying when he crashed out in Q1. It set him back not just track time wise, but also mentally.By the race, he was a bit down on confidence and re-jigged his goals. Already at the start of the F1 race, he understood it would be difficult to overtake and he took the grandma approach. Russell, meanwhile, took the winresisting late pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.Antonelli Fires Back at RussellAzerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – SEPTEMBER 25: Pole position qualifier George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on September 25, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images)He cut down the gap to 66 points and put a confidence marker for winning this weekend’s Bahrain GP in Malaysia. But Antonelli responded with his fight, stating that he would re-establish the order at Sepang, and that he would be back at his usual self as he has been in F1 2026.“Well, he’s (Russell) always been my rival, but I’ll make sure next week I re-establish the order and just make sure that I will be at the back at my usual level,” said Antonelli to the media after the F1 Azerbaijan GP. “Because this weekend was more as I said, I was driving more like my grandma.“So, just it wasn’t the usual Kimi, but luckily we have another race coming up, and we’re looking forward to it,” summed up Antonelli, who felt the Azerbaijan GP was a huge learning for him to handle situations differently to how he is used to now. It gave him the chance to learn newer things.Antonelli Says Baku Helped him See His Different SideAzerbaijan Grand Prix, FridayHe agrees that he was not happy with how he drove during the weekend, but he has put it behind knowing that some weekends can be a struggle in the long picture. “Yeah, I mean you always want to win, and I’m not happy at all with how I drove this weekend,” continued Antonelli.“I could have done, and I should have done a much better job, but it’s one of those weekends as well where it doesn’t click, where you just struggle. But as I said, I think it taught me a lot. I learned a lot about myself as well, especially how to respond to this kind of situations where you just miss a load of track time. So yeah, I think it will be much better next weekend,” summed up Antonelli.