Russell says a good end to the season is the main priority
Ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes’ George Russell discussed his plans and perspective for the remainder of the season as his teammate stands on the brink of claiming his maiden championship title. After a disappointing weekend last time out in Austin with an eighth place finish, the Briton made it clear that “I've never had a season like this in my career where the performance has fluctuated so much.” After winning the season opener in Australia, Russell has gone on to win a further two races however has been consistently beaten by his teammate.
Over the course of the season, he has struggled not only with consistency in the car but also from numerous reliability issues which have plagued his championship bid in 2026. Russell, who has had three DNFs this season, stated: “it's definitely important for me to try and gain some consistency.”
Even the upgrades, of which Mercedes have added a few to their challenger over the course of the season, have yielded mixed results for the Briton. Referencing Austin, he candidly admitted that “I struggled a lot on my side, and he [Kimi Antonelli] obviously had a very, very strong race.”
One of the highlights of his season came only a few rounds ago after a dominant performance in Baku where he took pole position and the race win in the closest finish in a Formula One race for decades. Speaking about the situation, he made it clear that “I know it's in there […] It's just that we're struggling to have a high hit rate.”
However, his incredible performance also raised questions about the consistency that he has struggled with. He added that “a couple of races ago, we were on pole by eight tenths and won the race” so “you can't deliver performances like that in Baku if you've so-called lost it.”
Speaking about the race itself, the Mercedes driver highlighted how the conditions around the circuit namely the increase in altitude has made it much harder to predict the pecking order this weekend. Speaking about his perspective on favourites this weekend, he made clear that “the likes of Ferrari have a smaller turbo than most, so they probably have quite an advantage in this regard.” In the past, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has delivered many exciting races and this edition is sure to follow suit.
The Mexico City Grand Prix is an opportunity for Russell to turn things around in his own performance, even if his championship bid is all but done. To this end, he made clear that a strong end to the season is “probably the priority for me in these last few races.” While the Drivers’ Championship may be all but wrapped up for his teammate, Russell will still have an important part to play to help Mercedes secure their first Constructors’ championship title since 2021.
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