Nico Rosberg believes that George Russell is currently driven by a fierce, almost obsessive determination to overturn his recent fortunes, much like the fire that propelled him to defeat Lewis Hamilton after a series of setbacks. The British driver’s aspirations of clinching his first world championship this season are fading fast as his teammate, the in-form Kimi Antonelli, has carved out an 81‑point advantage at the summit of the standings. Since triumphing at the Australian Grand Prix, which opened the 2025 season in March, Russell has managed to finish ahead of Antonelli only twice in the ten races they have both completed. The young Italian has secured his seventh and eighth victories of the year at the back‑to‑back events in Monza and Madrid, widening the gap between the two competitors.
After the most recent race, where Russell crossed the line in fifth place, Rosberg was asked by Sky Sports F1 about the psychological journey he endured when he rebounded to win the 2016 title after being soundly beaten by his own teammate, Hamilton, the year before. Rosberg answered that pain had been a powerful catalyst.
"I was driven a lot by the pain," he recalled. "Subjectively, it was painful to keep losing against Lewis and that just drove an insane motivation. George will be in a similar situation. He will be so damn motivated at the moment to try and find improvements.
He’ll be working so hard because I know George doesn’t give up and he’s hating the situation of getting beaten over and over by Kimi. He’ll be working super hard but it’s a bit of a difficult one because it’s hard to understand where the pace has gone for him." Russell has been Mercedes’ top‑scoring driver in three of his previous four seasons with the team – twice in three‑year stints opposite Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside the rookie Antonelli (2025). Yet with nine races remaining, he needs a dramatic reversal of fortune to reclaim that status this year. Rosberg is confident that Russell’s relentless work ethic will eventually yield a breakthrough with the W17, even though the Briton is likely to be questioning himself as the pressure mounts.
"I’m very impressed with George’s approach because he’s really a perfectionist and he tries to cover every aspect of his human performance," the former champion added. "I know he’s doing everything he can, and I admire that.
But, all the more, it’s tough for him because he doesn’t understand himself. He’s always been fast; he’s always been at least level with his teammate and suddenly it’s gone away from him there. It’s really painful because you start to doubt yourself.
It doesn’t matter how confident you are, it then comes to questioning ‘am I not good enough? Was I better in the past and I’m just doing something wrong now?’ It’s really difficult." Fresh from being out‑performed by Antonelli at Monza – despite the Italian starting from a penalised 19th position on the grid and still managing to finish 66 points ahead – Russell admitted ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that he would need a dose of luck to keep his title hopes alive. The deficit ballooned to a season‑high 81 points after a disappointing weekend in Madrid, where a problematic Q3 qualifying session and an early Virtual Safety Car hampered his race.
That result left Russell effectively out of the championship battle. Looking ahead to the upcoming races, beginning with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 24‑26, Russell told the F1 media outlet: "Just keep pushing along. It has 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’, realistically I’m not in the fight for the drivers’, and that just allows me to focus on race‑by‑race and trying to get some good results." Mercedes remain convinced that Russell can rediscover his peak form. When asked what the British driver is battling most fiercely at the moment, team principal Toto Wolff replied: "I don’t know, because you can see the pace he had towards the end when he was catching Leclerc. He was 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 is confident that even if this title slips away, 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, noting Russell’s progression through Mercedes’ junior programme since 2017. "Every single karting championship, Formula 3 in his rookie year, Formula 2 in his rookie year, then into Williams. I mean, we’re talking about a top driver.
We need to find out what it takes for him to unleash that potential. And of course there’s the psychological side. If you have a run like him this year, you’re taking a beating. But the great ones, they recover.
And George has all he needs to fight for championships. Even if this one has maybe sailed, there will be more." The F1 calendar now moves to a Saturday race format for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, kicking off a triple‑header of events from September 24‑26. Fans can follow the action live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available through NOW, offering a contract‑free, cancel‑anytime option. Russell’s journey remains a compelling narrative of resilience, and while the odds are stacked against him this season, his determination, backed by the support of his team and mentors like Rosberg, suggests that his story is far from over.