George Russell has revealed that words by Fernando Alonso have partially inspired his mid-season turnaround in form during 2023.
Russell outscored Lewis Hamilton and claimed Mercedes’ only win in his debut season with the side in 2022, but he has slipped back to 62 points behind his seven-time World Champion team-mate this year.
The Briton has only notched a single podium – in Spain – rueing missed opportunities throughout the season that he considers have cost him “over 60 points” in total.
Aside from crashing out from third in Singapore, Russell has enjoyed a positive second half of the year, out-qualifying Hamilton in four of the last five rounds.
After storming to second in qualifying last time out in Qatar, Russell hailed his recent improvement over one-lap as “exceptional”.
Quizzed on what has changed since F1’s annual summer break on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Russell said: “I think a small mentality change from my side, how I work with my engineers, the things I’m focusing on with the set-up of the car, the things I’m not focusing on with the set-up of the car, and just probably enjoying life a bit more.
“I listened to a podcast from Fernando, where he said that if he could change one thing in his career, he wishes he enjoyed the moment more often when he was younger.
“I think that resonated with me because I’m living my dream here, but I’m so dedicated. I feel like I’m a true professional. I look at every single detail.
“I give it my everything, and sometimes you forget to enjoy it and to enjoy the moment with the people around you, enjoy the places you’re going to, smile, not just constantly be this 120% serious guy focusing on every single detail.”
Russell, however, denies that his newfound mindset has altered his approach to racing.
He added: “It doesn’t mean that I’m any less professional now, but it’s just that I’m probably enjoying my life more, my surroundings, the people who I have at home, my living situation.
“I’m just in a much happier place. I’m learning new things that I never would have dreamt of doing before, so all in all I’m just in a good place.”
The ex-Williams racer failed to capitalise on his front-row starting berth in Qatar, colliding with his team-mate at Turn 1 on the first lap.
Hamilton exited the race on the spot, but Russell was able to continue, eventually recovering to fourth, despite making an additional pit stop against his rivals.
Russell predicted that Mercedes had the pace to challenge Max Verstappen for victory, citing how McLaren’s Oscar Piastri only ended up 4.8s behind the Red Bull.
Falling short of a podium place saw Russell slip behind Lando Norris on outright points terms in the Drivers’ Championship. He occupies eighth spot on 132 points.
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