George Russell said he wanted to “control the controllables” ahead of the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya round, after a frustrating F1 Monaco GP left him further away from the championship fight than his underlying performances suggested.
The Mercedes driver endured another difficult race in Monte Carlo, where penalties, strategy complications and late-race disruption shaped his result. Ahead of the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Russell admitted Monaco had been hard to process, but said he had also taken a wider view of his campaign.
“Yeah, it has been very tough, of course, beginning with the outcome. But honestly, when I’ve sat down and thought about this season as a whole, if it was just a clean season — not a season that I had good luck, but just a neutral season — I think I’d have had three more podiums to my name and it would have been five out of six races on the podium, maybe a couple of wins, two out of three sprint race victories.
“I still think I’d probably be slightly behind Kimi [Antonelli] in the standings, but the picture is totally different. And I’m now just going to do every race to try and control the controllables.
“I can’t do anything about the engine breaking down. I can’t do anything about a bad safety car timing or this pit lane infringement situation. That is out of my control. Now I feel the pressure feels off, to be honest.
“I’m just going to try and enjoy every race. Not even thinking about a championship is so far out of reach right now, that it’s just go and enjoy the races and have fun, drive fast and do what I know I’m capable of doing and what I’ve done for my whole career in Formula One. Yeah, that’s what I’m excited for.”
Russell draws on support after tough run
Russell said he had continued working with his performance psychologist, something he had done for six years. He explained that those conversations helped him separate the emotion of the results from the quality of his performances.
While the points gap had grown, Russell believed the context mattered. He argued that his position felt different because several setbacks had not reflected his pace.
“Every week I’m always talking with my performance psychologist, and I’ve been doing that for six years now, so that isn’t anything new. But it’s just always great to talk to somebody about what you’re feeling, how you’re going to overcome those emotions, and are the emotions you’re feeling, let’s say, a true reflection of the performances.
“If I was 60 points behind in the championship, based on performance, I would be in a substantially worse place than I am today.
“Being 60 points behind when 45 of those, at least, were out of my control. I recently watched the Rafa documentary and also the Ronaldinho documentary. Quite contrasting, aren’t they?”
“But, two greats, and it’s not plain sailing every tournament, every match, every season. Ronaldinho was a hero of mine. I didn’t realise that he had so many years and matches and competitions of struggle.
“We always only remember the highlights of all of these greats. Everybody goes through these moments, whether it’s through personal performance, things out of their control, injury, whatever it is. Yeah, that’s where we are now.
“I’ll come through.”
Russell admits Monaco comments came “in the moment”
The Mercedes driver had spoken in Monaco about possible driving style changes after struggling for confidence with the car and tyres. However, ahead of the F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Russell said he had been too harsh on himself in the immediate aftermath.
The Briton pointed to the 2026 tyre pressures as a major difference, but also noted that he had performed strongly with the same tyre characteristics earlier in the season.
“The tyres are quite vastly different this year due to tyre pressures that we are being prescribed. These are the highest tyre pressures we’ve ever run, probably ever in Formula 1. But they were still there in Melbourne and China and Canada when I was performing very well.
“I was probably being a little bit too harsh and speaking in the moment, to be honest. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in Monaco with the tyres and the car. That is a circuit where it punishes you for having reflected on it.
“You know, I’m going into this weekend with a clear head. I’m not going to get too caught up in the data and drive on my instincts. To be honest, last year I really looked at any data.
“I just got in and drove, and I drove fast, and it worked. So I just need to sometimes trust in those instincts as I did when I was part of it.”
Russell wants instincts to guide adaptation
Russell did not dismiss the need to adapt to new machinery. Instead, he said he wanted those changes to happen more naturally, rather than forcing himself into a solution through excessive data analysis.
He explained that, throughout his career, his driving style had usually evolved towards the car’s limitations without him consciously chasing every answer.
“There always need to be improvements because when you’re driving with a new car and new tyres, you need to evolve. But what I’ve observed, and this is different for everybody, but what I’ve observed for myself when I look back over the years is that my driving style naturally evolved to the limitation of the car and the tyres.
“Again, like chasing a stream, I didn’t chase the solution. I didn’t deep dive into the data, spending so much time trying to work out what the problem was and then, on track, thinking how I’m going to solve the problem. It just naturally evolved.”
Learning from sim experience
“And I had an example on the sim a couple of years ago. I did two days in a row and on the first day I was driving really well, and I did a whole day in Barcelona. And I came in the next day, and on my second lap I went two tenths faster.
“I thought to myself, how on earth did I just go two tenths faster on my second lap today compared to doing a hundred laps the day before? And I think I spoke with somebody about this. You just subconsciously learn what happened.
“Yesterday I didn’t think I was driving any different, but the brain just automatically learned. And that’s where I want to find myself. I want to go back to that place where I’m subconsciously learning how to improve.
“I’m not chasing those answers because I know I can do it. I’ve done it my whole career, and that’s what I’m excited about.
“Of course, Kimi is doing such an amazing job at the moment, but his driving style is exactly the same as his driving style of last year, and it’s clicking. He hasn’t chased it, it’s just clicking for him perfectly well.
“And I know it can click for me again, as it did in Melbourne and China.”
Barcelona offers Russell chance to reset
Russell arrived for the F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, looking to move on from Monaco with a clearer mindset. Rather than framing the weekend around the championship, he said he wanted to focus on driving freely and trusting the instincts that had delivered strong performances earlier in the year.
The Mercedes driver accepted that the season had not unfolded as he wanted, but he did not view the gap in the standings as a true reflection of his level. After Monaco, his aim was simple: stop chasing what had already happened and rebuild momentum race by race.
