George Russell admitted he had fallen behind in Mercedes’ internal battle and outlined an unusual strategy to regain his competitiveness for the 2026 Formula One season. The British driver believes he must return to evolving naturally at the wheel to end Kimi Antonelli’s dominant run.
After winning the season opener in Australia, Russell saw his teammate take control of the intra-Mercedes competition. Antonelli racked up five consecutive victories and became the team’s main reference, while the Briton struggled to find the ideal balance on the W17.
The gap between the two drivers is also reflected in the standings. Russell sits 50 points behind the Italian, although he missed a crucial chance to close that margin at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he led the race before retiring due to a power unit failure.
According to the British driver, part of the problem lies in adapting to the new car and the tyres of the current generation. Russell explained that, throughout his career, his driving style typically adjusted spontaneously to the characteristics of the equipment, something that has not happened with the same ease this season.
“There is always a need to improve, because when you are piloting a new car and using new tyres, you need to evolve, but what I noticed when looking at my track record is that my driving style adapted naturally to the limitations of the car and the tyres,” he said.
The Briton highlighted that, in other times, there was no need to seek answers through excessive analysis: “I wasn’t chasing solutions or diving deeply into the data to discover the problem, and then figuring out how to solve it on the track. The evolution happened naturally,” he explained.
To illustrate his theory, Russell recalled an experience he had in a simulator. After completing a full day of testing in Barcelona, he came back the next day and was immediately faster: “By the second lap of the second day, I was two tenths quicker and I wondered, ‘How did I manage that after doing a hundred laps the day before?’,” he said.
The answer, according to him, lies in unconscious learning: “I spoke with a few people about it and realized that you learn subconsciously. I didn’t feel like I was driving differently, but the brain absorbed the information automatically. It is that state I want to recover. I don’t want to keep chasing answers all the time. I know I can do this because it was like that throughout my career,” he added.
Russell concluded by acknowledging Antonelli’s strong form: “Everything is working for Kimi at the moment. He didn’t have to push, it simply happened. I know this could come back to me, as it did in Australia and China,” the British driver wrapped up.
