George Russell revealed details of his struggles throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season and said he felt a ‘huge load off my mind’ after learning the Mercedes issues were not the driver’s fault.
Mercedes driver George Russell has experienced his fair share of hardships this season. Despite the Brackley-based team starting the season looking dominant, his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s performance has shone through more than his own.
Russell’s struggles with the W17 have not gone unnoticed. The Briton believed that the straight-line speed issues could be related to his driving style. However, he revealed that the issue lay with the power unit.
“It is a huge load off my mind, but also while I’m driving, through Silverstone and the majority of Friday and Saturday at Spa, I think about how I needed to drive to make the power unit fast in the straight,” Russell told media, including Motorsport Week.
‘Focus on the simple things’
The British Mercedes driver has spent the first half of the season being compared to his teammate every race weekend. It could be demoralising for the 28-year-old to sit 59 points behind the teenager. But he enters the second half of the season with greater peace of mind.
After spending months believing he needed to change his driving technique to catch up to his teammate, he now feels a sense of relief knowing the issue is not with him.
“How I pick up the throttle, the gear usage, how early I am on the throttle, and the data was telling us that this was probably the reason [I was struggling], but it turned out it wasn’t the reason.” Russell continued.
“So all of that effort over the course of three sessions, trying to re-optimise my driving around a new technique, was kind of for nothing.
“If I focus on the simple things, I know that is when I perform at my best, but we’re not in a simplistic sport, so saying let’s just solely focus on the simple things is easier said than done, sometimes.”
With the Dutch Grand Prix weekend ahead, it will be interesting to see how the teammates squabble amid the discovery.
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