George Russell qualified his Mercedes in second place for the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP, just 0.009s behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton, and will start from the front row of the grid for the first time since the Azerbaijan GP – a timely performance, given he is one of only two drivers that can stop Kimi Antonelli from clinching the drivers’ championship this weekend.
But the runner-up in the championship isn’t getting carried away by the performance, as he believes Antonelli already has the championship wrapped up – and instead wants to focus on why this kind of performance has so rarely been achievable this season on his side of the Mercedes garage.
Russell reveals “frustrating” pattern from his qualifying in the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP
Whilst being on the front row will surely boost Russell’s confidence ahead of the Mexico City GP, the Mercedes F1 driver seemed puzzled by the inconsistencies he faced throughout the weekend up until Q3, as he explained there were no “average laps” – either terrible laps or great laps – which sapped his confidence and proved a “frustrating” pattern that mostly sums up his season so far:
“[Lap time didn’t come] easily at all, to be honest,” Russell said. “It’s a little bit of a story of my season.
“I think this kind of feels like I’ve never done an average lap. It’s either a terrible lap or a very strong lap, and this is quite frustrating. I don’t think there was a single lap this whole weekend ahead of Q3 that I looked in the mix to even fight for the top three, let alone pole position.
“But that last lap just came together really nicely. I’d love to know exactly why, but I don’t have those answers. And, yeah, I’ll take it.”
Russell explains change of tyre preparation ahead of final run in Q3 at 2026 F1 Mexico City GP
Mercedes was one of a few F1 teams that were opting to do a second preparation lap on the tyres before their flying lap attempts throughout the qualifying hour in the Mexico City GP – and Russell believes changing that approach ahead of the final runs was one of the key reasons he was able to achieve front row pace in his final run.
The eight-time grand prix winner explained how a late change of plans meant he had to carry extra fuel for the preparation lap that never actually took place – and believes that could’ve been the difference between getting pole or not, given the slender 0.009s margin to Hamilton’s pole time:
“That was probably the biggest thing that I changed. I saw Lewis [Hamilton], Charles [Leclerc] and Max [Verstappen] as well. They weren’t doing the prep lap. We were doing prep laps, just getting the temperature of the tyre. It’s quite challenging.
“My gut told me we could do it on lap one without the preparation, but the team wanted to do the prep, so we ended up carrying the fuel for an extra lap,” he revealed. “You know, it’s such a small number [the fuel deficit], but it’s bigger than the gap to pole. So, it’s obviously… you always think retrospectively, if only we had the one lap of fuel rather than the extra lap of fuel that we had, we could have been on pole.
“But I’m very grateful to be in this position, because it’s been a tough run,” he added. “And, like I said straight out of the car, I know it’s in there. I’ve never doubted that it’s in there. It’s just understanding why this season we can’t achieve it as consistently as I have done in the past.”
Russell: Turn one will be “crucial” for the result at 2026 F1 Mexico City GP
Russell is well aware that with how close in performance the top teams are at the moment, and the difficulties posed to the cars by the high altitude at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the race start will be “crucial” for his chances of winning the Mexico City GP:
“I think it’s just very close between the top four teams at the moment. Every Q3 we go into in recent races, it feels like it can go either way between any of the four teams.
“I think the race pace, there’s probably going to be a tenth between the top seven or eight drivers. So I think Turn 1 is going to be crucial.
“Overtaking is going to be tough, overheating, etcetera. It’s always the case here in Mexico. But get a good night’s sleep and see what tomorrow brings.”
Russell admits it’s “inevitable” Antonelli will win the F1 championship: “Most likely this weekend”
Although he’s one of two drivers still in with a mathematical chance of keeping the title race alive this weekend, Russell gave a blunt assessment of the situation when asked in the post-qualifying press conference, saying it’s “obviously inevitable” that his Mercedes F1 team-mate Kimi Antonelli will clinch the drivers’ championship this weekend at the Mexico City GP:
“I mean, it’s obviously inevitable he [Antonelli] is going to win the championship, most likely this weekend,” he admitted. “So, for me personally, just going out there to try and have a good race. I want to try and finish this season strong. That’s the biggest priority for me.
“I think in my mind, you know, he’s kind of already won the championship. So that’s something that I don’t think I need to deal with.”
