George Russell started the F1 2026 season as the favourite for the title given his experience and Mercedes’s strong form, but the opening rounds of the championship quickly shifted the narrative. While Russell dominated the season opener in Melbourne, back-to-back wins for teammate Kimi Antonelli swung the momentum—and points advantage—in the Italian’s favour. With Antonelli now the youngest driver to lead the drivers’ standings in the history of the sport, Russell will be playing catch-up when the season resumes at the Miami GP.
Speaking during a recent online media session, Russell downplayed both external expectations and his current position in the standings, insisting he’s focusing on consistency and maximising results.
“It’s a hell of a long season and no championship’s ever been won after three races. So for me, it’s always important to maximise the results,” he said.
“I’m not leading the championship, but I’ve got to be honest, when I look at the circumstances of the last two races, I actually feel like I’ve maximised my results and that’s all I can do.”
Russell reflects on missed opportunities in China and Japan
In Shanghai, Russell faced issues during qualifying that hampered his efforts, while at Suzuka, an ill-timed safety car and a software glitch later on in the race denied him a potential podium finish.
“If things had gone slightly differently in Suzuka, I think I could have won that race,” Russell said.
“If there was no safety car at all, I think I’d have finished second in that race behind Piastri. In China, I obviously had a qualifying issue and I think otherwise I potentially could have been on pole there.
“So when I look at things rationally, I think I’ve maximised my results this year and when I have a clean weekend as I had in Melbourne, I know I’ve got the capability of being on pole and winning the race. So obviously I was frustrated coming away from China and Japan, but that’s always going to happen at some point in the season and I’m actually quite thankful that I still managed to get some decent points on the board.”
On making the most out of the unexpected F1 spring break
The opening stretch of the 2026 F1 calendar proved physically and logistically challenging for drivers, with three races in four weeks in March. Asked whether the unexpected month-long break in April helped him reset ahead of Miami, Russell insisted he felt “great” at the start of the season regardless.
“I felt great prior to any break, and I feel great now, to be honest,” he said.
“Definitely for everybody, you do feel fatigued coming away from those first three races, but you’re always competing against competitors who are on the same schedule as you, so you’re all kind of equally fatigued, and now we’re all equally recharged, so I would have loved to have continued racing, and I know that wasn’t, of course, in the Middle East not possible, and it wasn’t practical to go anywhere else.
“But I’ve just used this time to good use, spent a lot of time with the team, I’m going to have numerous days on the simulator prior to Miami to try and iron out some of these issues that have caught us out, unexpected issues that have caught us out. Of course the main thing is the performance, and the performance looks very strong, so hoping to continue where we left off.”
Russell not discounting rivals in F1 title battle
With Antonelli leading the championship, many have begun to speculate on the possibility of an intra-team title fight at Mercedes. Russell deflected, arguing that it’s too early to confidently state the title will go to either of the Mercedes drivers.
“Well, firstly, 100% they will give the same opportunity to the two of us, that’s always been the case for Mercedes ever since the Lewis [Hamilton] and [Nico] Rosberg days,” Russell told the media.
“Of course, I hope it’s just the two of us going for the championship, but I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, because I’ve said this numerous times, in 2022 after three races, I think [Charles] Leclerc had a 30 plus point lead, and Verstappen was saying the championship is over, and Ferrari were the quickest, and then at the end they were not.
“I think we have a very good direction, I think the correlation is very good, we’re ticking all of the boxes that tell us we have a really great foundation with the car, but of course these things change.”
Russell singled out McLaren as a potential rival, pointing to Piastri’s pace and performance in Japan.
“We know McLaren have not brought a major update recently, and when you look at their performance in Suzuka, as I said, I think Piastri could have won that race without any safety car at all,” he said.
“So, I’m just taking it race by race, the championship is not even in my mind, I just go to every race, try and maximise the performance, and we’ll count the points at the end of the season.”
Relationship with Antonelli unchanged despite rising stakes
Russell downplayed suggestions of a budding rivalry with his Italian teammate, stating that he’s simply focusing on himself and maximising his results.
Addressing whether his relationship with Antonelli has changed now that they’re first and second in the standings, Russell said, “Not at all, to be honest.”
“I think we’re both professional, we’ve still got a very good relationship, and it’s something we’re not even talking about, to be honest. Within the team, it’s not even being spoken about, and I even remember when I was a junior driver here in 2017, 2018, when the fight was pretty strong at points with Ferrari for the team, the championship wasn’t even on anyone’s mind.
“What was on everybody’s mind was performance and getting the maximum every single weekend, developing the car. That’s my personal mentality. I can’t speak for Kimi, but that’s how it is for now.”
Looking ahead to Miami
Asked whether he’s feeling the pressure to beat Antonelli in Miami—a track he excelled at last season—Russell again highlighted the importance of consistency across the season.
“No, not at all, because, as you said, that was his strongest track last year, but I had 20-plus other tracks that were very strong for me,” he responded.
“A championship is won over the whole season, and as long as I maximise my points by the end of the season, what happens race by race, no one remembers, and that is my goal. That is what I’m confident in achieving over a course of a championship. Consistency; good results on the bad days, victory on the good days, and that is going to continue to be my goal every single weekend.
The Briton added that he’s priorising self-improvement, aiming to iron out mistakes.
“As I said, I’m not thinking about Kimi, I’m not thinking about the championship,” he continued.
“I’m focused on myself. I have things that I also need to improve around the race start, because that is clearly a very important factor. I have things I need to improve around the safety car restart—I made some procedural errors that led to me being overtaken by Lewis in Japan, and then the problem later in the race with Leclerc. If I find out these things, we’re in a very different situation.”
Approach hasn’t changed despite stronger Mercedes F1 package
Russell revealed that his approach and attitude hasn’t changed, despite now having a consistently well-performing car under him after several turbulent seasons for Mercedes.
“It’s quite interesting,” he said, adding that “it doesn’t change a lot or anything to be honest.”
“And I’m also trying to understand in my head why. I’m a competitor and I’m a fighter and you thrive on the challenge and achieving the victory via this great challenge is what is most rewarding.
“I think going into every weekend knowing now we have the chance for victory, it doesn’t make me more or less excited, or more or less motivated. I’ve been in the sport long enough now that I know how to deal with both ends of the spectrum of having a great car and the slowest car. I’m just going about my business, treating it as any other race weekend and just enjoying what I’m doing.”
