Mercedes’ George Russell will not be focusing on the 2026 Drivers’ Championship as he enters the F1 Canadian GP weekend.
The Briton is looking to redeem himself after a challenging weekend in Miami. While his teammate and current championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, clinched his third consecutive victory, Russell finished off the podium in P4. He currently sits P2 in the Drivers’ Standings, 20 points behind Antonelli, with 80 points to his name.
Russell is also looking forward to returning to a track he triumphed at last season. The 28-year-old shares that he is confident in his abilities and in the upgrades Mercedes has brought to Montreal. He then revealed that his primary focus ahead of the 2026 F1 Canadian GP will be on the race, not the championship.
Russell on how he will approach the 2026 F1 Canadian GP
The Briton will approach the weekend with the same mindset he has had since the beginning of the season. Despite the disappointing performance in Miami, Russell is looking ahead and focused on the 2026 F1 Canadian GP. He admitted that Miami was never a strong track for him.
However, he is excited to return to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, a track where he historically has had a good record.
“It’s just another race for me. It’s just another race, and it’s not even in my mind: the championship. I know what I’m capable of; I know the speed I’ve got. Obviously, Miami was a bad weekend. It was a tough weekend for me there last year, and I went to Montréal and had a great weekend.”
Nonetheless, Russell is aware that nothing is guaranteed as he enters the 2026 F1 Canadian GP weekend. He shared that he is focused on maximising his weekend in Montreal and will not be focused on the championship battle.
The 28-year-old further explained his approach by making comparisons to his 2018 Formula 2 championship-winning season.
“Doesn’t mean this year is going to be the same, but I just need to focus on myself, go through my processes as I did in Melbourne, as I did in China, and control what I can control. So, there’s really no need to panic at all. And as we said, we’re four races down, 18 at least to go.
“And I actually look back on my F2 season, which is obviously the last time I fought for a championship, and I was P6 after four races in F2 and about 35 points down. So, at this point, it means nothing.”
Russell breaks down why the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a strong track for him
Just a year prior, at the 2025 F1 Canadian GP, Russell had won from pole position. At the 2024 edition, the Briton clinched pole position in Qualifying and finished the race at P3.
The Mercedes driver acknowledged that the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve was a strong track for him and the team. He then cited the track’s colder conditions as one of the main factors.
“Well, I think the last two years this track has suited our car more, because we clearly performed better in the cooler conditions. We won in Vegas, and we won in Canada. I’ve been pole here the last two years, and I think that was the biggest part of it. Kimi was on the podium here last year as well; we both performed very well.”
Russell also reflected on Mercedes’ 2025 F1 season performance and added that while it was not guaranteed they would succeed at the 2026 Canadian GP, he is still looking forward to the weekend ahead.
“So, the first four races of the year, we’ve obviously won as a team. Four races of the year last year we didn’t. Then we get to Canada, we won. So, it doesn’t guarantee that we’ll win again this year. It’s just a track I like. I like the flow, I like the sort of medium-speed nature of the corners. Yeah, I enjoy it here.”
Russell says his main competition is himself
The 2026 F1 season is shaping up to be a potential two-way battle at Mercedes. However, Russell believes that his main competition of the season is not the championship leader, but rather himself. The Briton shared that this was a mindset he had kept since his rookie season in 2019.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m just looking at myself as my main competitor. And that’s what I’ve done over the last seven years in my whole Formula 1 career. I know that if I tick all of my boxes, I know I can beat anybody. And that was the case last year when I was team-mates with Lewis, and that was the case when I was team-mates with Kimi, and the year before when I was team-mates with Lewis.
“So, I’m not looking at my edge over anybody else. I’m looking at how do I get the most out of myself, with my engineers, out of the car set-up, out of the tyres. I know if I tick all of those boxes, I can win. That is my goal.“
