2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg has questioned the mindset of George Russell as the 2026 title continues to slip further and further out of reach for the Briton.
Russell started out 2026 with high confidence, taking a dominant win in Australia which looked to set the foundations of a title run.#
To say that his campaign has faltered since then would be a dramatic understatement, as teammate Kimi Antonelli then took five consecutive victories, opening up a healthy points lead.
While he has shown flashes of speed since, including taking two more victories, he now lies a distant 81 points behind Antonelli with just nine races remaining.
Although still mathematically possible to catch his young Italian teammate, another below par weekend in Madrid saw yet another blow to his title hopes/
Rosberg praised Russell’s steeliness in the face of adversity, highlighting the work the Briton is doing to turn the tide on a difficult period.
“I’m very impressed with George because he’s really a perfectionist and he tries to cover every single aspect of his human performance,” Rosberg told Sky F1.
“I know he’s even working on his mental state. He’s meditating, he’s doing everything he can, and I really I admire that.
“But it’s all the more it’s tough for him because he doesn’t understand himself.”
Is self doubt creeping in for George Russell?
However, Rosberg questioned whether self doubt is beginning to creep into Russell’s mindset, which may be affecting his ability to fight back on and off the track.
“He’s always been fast,” he said.
“He’s always been you know at least level with his team-mate, and suddenly it’s gone away from him, and it’s really painful.
“Because you start to doubt yourself – ‘am I not enough?’
“It doesn’t matter how confident you are. It then comes. ‘Am I just not good enough, or was I better in the past, and I’m just doing something wrong now?’
“It’s really difficult.”
Russell is experiencing a challenging year but is not short on resources to turn the tide. Like everything in F1 this takes time, but this is something the Briton is rapidly running out of in 2026 as he seeks to pull off one of the greatest title bid recoveries in the sport’s history.
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