Russell won’t give up hope after disappointing results: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”

Written by Bo Helmus

Russell isn’t having the season he thought he would | Credit: Formula One

At the beginning of the season, Mercedes looked like they would dominate every race. Lately, the first cracks in Mercedes’ armour are starting to show. Reliability issues left and right, and to make matters worse, an accident for George Russell in Belgium. 

Lewis Hamilton has overtaken Russell in the championship, making the title feel farther away than ever. The 28-year-old has won two races this year, whilst his younger teammate won six. On top of that, the car has been losing performance throughout the last couple of races. Russell has failed to score points in three races, and Kimi Antonelli has suffered the same fate on two occasions. 

Collision

The Brit isn’t happy with the way things are going for him and for the team: “I think it’s probably fair to say it is the toughest battle psychologically I’ve had, just because there have been so many ups and downs combined with things in my control that haven’t been great.”

The former teammates and championship rivals collided into Les Combes | Credit: Formula One

“But also things outside of my control that have hampered progression,” says Russell, referring to his opening-lap crash at Spa. His battery didn’t give him the power he needed to stay ahead of the surrounding cars at Kemmel-straight, causing him and Hamilton to collide into Les Combes.  

Positivity

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” the Brit continues. “I feel proud of my resilience. Three days after Spa, I feel positive and excited for the weekend. I’m looking at the future prospects and not the past disappointment. I guess that’s the good thing with racing, you’ve often got an opportunity just around the corner.”

It wasn’t a driving error that caused the lack of power on the Kemmel-straight | Credit: Formula One

A good thing that came out of last weekend for the Brit is that the team has found the issue: “We think it was a software bug. It wasn’t the driving style that was contributing to the loss of power, so that’s something at least. I think Spa gave us the right pointers on where to look for the problem. It’s like picking a needle out of a haystack, really.”

“Suddenly, when you know where you’ve got to look, maybe you can find the problem. Thankfully, I think we have. Time will tell, but it wasn’t an easy couple of weeks.”