Nico Rosberg is convinced that George Russell is currently fueled by a level of "insane motivation" comparable to the fire that drove him to overturn his defeats to Lewis Hamilton and capture the 2016 world championship. Rosberg believes that the same intensity will now push Russell to try and reverse his fortunes against his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who has surged ahead in the championship. Russell's aspirations of clinching his maiden world title this season are fading fast as Antonelli, the in‑form Mercedes rookie, has built an 81‑point advantage at the summit of the standings.
Since taking victory at the Australian Grand Prix, the opening round in March, Russell has only managed to finish ahead of Antonelli twice in the ten races where both drivers have completed the distance. The Briton has watched the young Italian claim his seventh and eighth wins of the year during the back‑to‑back events at Monza and Madrid. After Sunday's race, where Russell crossed the line in fifth place, Rosberg was asked by Sky Sports F1 about his own experience of bouncing back to win the title after being decisively beaten by Hamilton the previous year.
"I was driven a lot by the pain," Rosberg recalled. "Subjectively, it hurt to keep losing to Lewis and that pain turned into a kind of insane motivation." He went on to draw a parallel with Russell's current situation: "George is in a similar spot now. He's incredibly motivated to find any improvement he can.
He'll be working extremely hard because I know George never gives up, and he hates being out‑performed by Kimi over and over again. He's putting in the effort, but it's a tricky problem because it's hard to pinpoint exactly where his pace has vanished." Russell has been Mercedes' highest‑scoring driver in three of his last four seasons with the team – twice in three‑year battles against Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside the rookie Antonelli in 2025.
To replicate that success this year, a dramatic reversal is required with nine races still on the calendar. Rosberg praised Russell's work ethic, noting that the 28‑year‑old is a perfectionist who scrutinises every facet of his performance.
"I'm very impressed with George's approach because he's a perfectionist and he tries to cover every aspect of his human performance," the former champion said. "He’s doing everything he can, and I admire that.
But it’s also tough for him because he doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. He’s always been quick, always been at least on par with his teammate, and suddenly that edge is gone." The psychological toll is evident. "It’s painful because you start to doubt yourself," Rosberg explained. "No matter how confident you are, the question creeps in: ‘Am I not good enough?
Was I better in the past and now I’m doing something wrong?’ It’s a very difficult place to be." Fresh from being out‑performed by Antonelli at Monza – despite his teammate starting from a penalised 19th place on the grid and finishing 66 points off the pace – Russell admitted ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that he would need a dose of luck to keep his title hopes alive. The deficit swelled to a season‑high 81 points after a disappointing weekend in Madrid, where a problematic Q3 and an early Virtual Safety Car hampered his race.
That result left Russell virtually ruling himself out of the championship battle. Looking ahead to the upcoming races, beginning with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 24‑26, Russell told F1: "Just keep pushing along. It’s been a more positive couple of races even though the result was far from great today. But it’s kind of the story of the season.
I just need to focus on the performance, keep trying to help the team. We’re obviously in a great place to win the constructors' title, realistically I’m not in the fight for the drivers', and that just allows me to focus on race‑by‑race and try to get some good results." Mercedes remain convinced that Russell can rediscover his peak form. Team principal Toto Wolff was asked what Russell is fighting hardest against at the moment. Wolff replied: "I don’t know, because you can see the pace he had towards the end when he was catching Leclerc.
He was the fastest out on track. But after the tyre changes, the pace wasn’t there. I just don’t know where it is and we have to analyse it, because clearly it’s in him, it’s in the car, and we just have to unlock it." Wolff has no doubt that, even if the title slips away this year, Russell will bounce back and remain a contender in future championship battles. "When it comes to George, you can have good races, bad races, good years and bad years, but we’re talking about a driver who has already won everything he could have potentially won before," Wolff said, recalling that he signed Russell to Mercedes' junior programme in 2017.
"Every single karting championship, Formula 3 in his rookie year, Formula 2 in his rookie year, then into Williams. We’re talking about a top driver. We need to find out what it takes for him to unleash that potential." Wolff added a psychological perspective: "If you have a run like him this year, you’re taking a beating. But the great ones recover.
George has all he needs to fight for championships. Even if this one has maybe sailed, there will be more." The F1 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicks off a triple‑header of races from September 24‑26, with the Baku event taking place on a Saturday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.