An upgraded car and a “painful” reminder not to lose sight of the Formula 1 fundamentals could be George Russell's path back to the front of the field at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell's fourth place at the last race in Miami gave his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli a yawning 20-point lead in the standings after four races. The 19-year-old Italian has won three in a row.
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Race fans walk through pit lane during the open house at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari team members work on their cars at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain speaks speak during the drivers' press conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mercedes drivers George Russell of Britain, left, and Kimi Antonelli of Italy speak during an interview in the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Russell said one reason he lost ground was focusing too much on the standout feature of the 2026 cars, their massive electrical power output, and neglecting the basics.
“Dealing with the tires, dealing with the setup, just fundamentals of racing, has kind of been put on the back-burner because we’re all so focused on energy management,” he said.
“We missed some key things because we were focused elsewhere and that was a good little reminder. As painful as it was, it was a very much-needed weekend because I think it’s going to prove very beneficial.”
Antonelli's lead grew in Miami because McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull brought upgrades that helped them fight for the podium places. Now it's Mercedes' turn to bring upgraded parts for the car that's won all four Grand Prix races in 2026 so far.
Canada offers the chance of a big points swing. It's hosting a sprint race Saturday for the first time, putting another maximum eight points on offer.
The threat of rain in Montreal on Sunday would shake things up, too. After storms predicted for Miami never materialized, the 2026 cars have yet to race in wet weather.
It's early to talk of the title at just the fifth round of the season but a fourth win in a row would put the 19-year-old Antonelli into an exclusive club. Every driver who's won four or more consecutive Grands Prix has been an F1 champion at some point in their career.
History does offer a little encouragement to Russell, though. The one time in F1 history that a driver won four consecutive races in a season but not the title came in 2016 when Lewis Hamilton was beaten by his then-Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
More recently, Oscar Piastri won three in a row for McLaren last year and still lost to teammate Lando Norris.
It's a busy time to be an F1 engine manufacturer.
The extra engine power agreed for 2027, with electrical power turned down and less need to recharge batteries, got a cautious welcome Thursday from Max Verstappen, the biggest critic of the 2026 cars, who said it was “almost back to normal.”
Meanwhile, the FIA is pushing to return to old-school V8s from 2030, and there's more immediate change coming after this weekend.
Under a new-for-2026 rule, after the Canadian Grand Prix, the FIA will confirm some manufacturers will get extra development time and budget to improve their engines, but only if they're a certain margin behind the best-performing engine, widely agreed to be Mercedes.
The scheme, known as ADUO, is meant to nudge F1 gently toward engine parity over the next few years and avoid what FIA rules guru Nikolas Tombazis last year dubbed “eternal misery” for teams who picked slower engines.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Race fans walk through pit lane during the open house at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ferrari team members work on their cars at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain speaks speak during the drivers' press conference at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mercedes drivers George Russell of Britain, left, and Kimi Antonelli of Italy speak during an interview in the paddocks at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment on Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after he had ordered 5,000 troops to be pulled out of Europe.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
U.S. defense officials were also confused. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland.” He said this was due to his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of conflicting statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe.
NATO allies have been blindsided, despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments. “We’re going to stay well-synchronized with our allies moving forward,” NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, promised on Wednesday.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump's latest move but underlined that these matters should happen in a “structured" way. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said allies knew the U.S. troop "posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now. So we will see.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer deploying to Poland. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
Grynkewich said that “several hundred” more troops would be shifted elsewhere, without elaborating. The commander of the world's biggest military alliance said he had huddled with defense chiefs from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland at NATO headquarters to discuss options.
It all started as Trump fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in the war.
Trump then told reporters that the U.S. would be “cutting a lot further than 5,000.” He also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe might not be changed at all. The forces that were already rotating into Poland from Germany are likely to continue doing so. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision, and said it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
Friday's NATO meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, was aimed at preparing for a summit of Trump and his counterparts in Turkey in July.
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Cook reported from Brussels. Emma Burrows in London contributed.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
