George Russell finished P5 in the 2026 F1 Spanish GP after a quiet afternoon for the Mercedes driver. A brake failure for Lewis Hamilton meant he moved up one spot on the day.
Having qualified 6th on Saturday afternoon, the Brit started on hards. Surviving a touch from behind by Oscar Piastri as they approached turn 1, he was sat behind the Ferraris until his former teammate retired.
Brake problems for Lance Stroll saw the VSC deployed on lap 14. Russell took the opportunity to pit and switched to mediums, ending up ahead of Lando Norris. However, the yellow sidewall tyre did not hold up well because of graining and he was in again 14 tours later.
On a hugely encouraging note, he had tremendous pace in clear air on his second set of hards before catching Charles Leclerc, posting the fastest lap of the race as he banged in some 1:35s. Unfortunately for George Russell, overtaking was virtually impossible for everyone at the 2026 F1 Spanish GP.
George Russell on the first lap touch with Oscar Piastri and strategy in 2026 F1 Spanish GP
In the print media pen post-race, the seven-time F1 race winner explained he felt the two separate touches from the Australian on the brakes before turn 1. Piastri had looked to the outside but Russell did not see him and had to back out, leading to contact.
“Yeah, a little bit. It was obviously quite tight there.”
Leclerc, Russell, Lawson and Piastri all started on hards as their teammates went for the soft or mediums respectively. With the potential for Safety Cars or red flags, the second drivers on the starting grid would go long in case it fell their way. However, it did not on this occasion with only a VSC across laps 14 and 15.
“But yeah, just very frustrating timing with the [Virtual] Safety Car. You know, we’re hoping to make it to lap 40. We knew Kimi and the drivers on the medium and the soft would pit around lap 15. And then the [Virtual] Safety Car came at lap 14.”
At one stage, George Russell wanted to keep going until the end as he would have been a net P3 if his mediums had remained in good condition at the 2026 F1 Spanish GP. However, logic defeated hope and he boxed for hards with 30 laps remaining.
“Yeah, I mean, the hard was by far the most superior tyre. It would have been a big gamble to stay out of the medium. I thought I had nothing to lose.
“In the end, I think I would have ended up where I ended up anyway. So yeah, a bit of a shame.
“Very tough track to overtake, which was a bit annoying, I guess, for everyone.”
Happy with the pace
As overtaking is impossible at the brand new circuit in Madrid, George Russell’s P5 looked nothing more than average.
Nonetheless, his pace on the second set of hards when he had nobody in front of him until Leclerc pitted was hugely encouraging. While Lando Norris was on another level on Sunday compared to the rest regarding pace, his fellow Brit had podium speed if overtaking was possible.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the performance was far better than the result today. I think the pace was really strong, among the strongest of everybody out there. So I would take those positives.
“But yeah, this was kind of like Monaco-esque in terms of qualifying being everything.”
F1 title hopes looking very slim
Kimi Antonelli’s win on Sunday sees George Russell trailing his teammate by 81 points after the 2026 F1 Spanish GP. As there is only eight or nine rounds remaining, the British driver’s hopes of a first Drivers’ Championship look to be gone.
The driver of car #63 is keeping a positive outlook in terms of the rest of the season. He has nothing to lose and can go out and try to win some races to finish this year strong.
“I’m not going to say it’s over, but it’s exceptionally unlikely that I’m in this fight. I’m not even thinking about being in the fight because I don’t think I am in the fight.
“It almost just allows me to focus race by race and just try and win as many as possible. What will be, will be.”
