Kimi Antonelli says second place was the maximum Mercedes could achieve in Malaysia despite extending his championship lead.

Kimi Antonelli finished second at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, extending his championship lead to 84 points after teammate George Russell retired late in the race. The Mercedes driver started third on the grid but moved up when Russell's car suffered a suspected power unit failure with five laps remaining.

Antonelli chose intermediate tyres at the start and overtook polesitter Max Verstappen on the run to Turn 1, but later lost ground to the Dutch driver after the first Safety Car. He managed to hold off challenges from Russell to stay second during the middle stages of the race.

The 20-year-old Italian acknowledged Mercedes had been struggling more than usual despite their major upgrade package, saying they still have "a lot of work to do" as a team. He praised Verstappen and Red Bull for their incredible weekend performance while expressing satisfaction with securing the runner-up position.

Antonelli described Russell's retirement as disappointing for both his teammate and Mercedes overall, noting the team has been suffering from reliability issues throughout the season. The result marked another step forward in his championship campaign with seven races remaining in the 2026 season.