Nico Rosberg says that George Russell is probably feeling a surge of "insane motivation" right now, similar to the fire that drove him to overturn his defeats by Lewis Hamilton and claim the 2016 world title. Rosberg believes that Russell’s current frustration at being out‑performed by his teammate Kimi Antonelli could become a powerful catalyst for improvement. At present, Russell's chances of clinching his first championship this season are dwindling.
Antonelli, who has been in spectacular form, now leads the drivers' standings by a staggering 81 points. Since winning the opening Australian Grand Prix in March, the pre‑season favourite has managed to finish ahead of Antonelli only twice in the ten races where both have completed the distance. The Italian rookie has already 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 teammates. After Sunday's race, where Russell managed a fifth‑place finish, Rosberg was interviewed by Sky Sports F1 about his own comeback story.
He recalled the intense emotional pressure he felt after being beaten by Hamilton in 2015, explaining, "I was driven a lot by the pain. It was painful to keep losing to Lewis and that fed an insane motivation." He went on to draw a parallel with Russell, stating, "George is in a similar spot. He will be incredibly motivated right now to find any possible improvements.
He works extremely hard because I know he refuses to give up and he hates being repeatedly out‑paced by Kimi. He’ll push himself, but it’s difficult to pinpoint where his pace has vanished." Russell has been Mercedes' top point‑scorer in three of his last four seasons, topping the team’s tally twice when paired with Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside rookie Antonelli (2025). Yet with nine races remaining, a dramatic reversal is required for him to re‑establish that dominance. Rosberg is confident that Russell’s meticulous work ethic will eventually yield a breakthrough with the W17, even if the British driver is currently questioning his own performance.
"I’m very impressed with George’s approach because he’s a perfectionist and he examines every facet of his human performance," Rosberg said. "He’s doing everything he can, and I admire that. But it’s also painful because he doesn’t understand why his speed has dropped. He’s always been quick, always at least on par with his teammate, and now it feels like that has slipped away.
It leads to self‑doubt – ‘Am I not good enough? Was I better before and now I’m doing something wrong?’ – and that is a tough mental battle." Fresh from being out‑done by Antonelli at Monza – despite his teammate starting from a penalised 19th place and finishing 66 points off the pace – Russell admitted before the Spanish Grand Prix that he would need a stroke of luck to keep his title hopes alive. The deficit grew to a season‑high 81 points after a disappointing weekend in Madrid, where a poor Q3 qualifying session and an early Virtual Safety Car hampered his race. That result left Russell virtually out of contention by Sunday evening.
Looking ahead to the upcoming races, beginning with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 24‑26, Russell told F1 that his focus is on steady progress: "Just keep pushing along. It’s been a more positive couple of races even though the result was far from great today. The season is a story of ups and downs. I need to concentrate on performance, keep helping the team, and aim for solid results race by race." 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 exactly – you saw his pace at the end when he was chasing Leclerc.
He was the fastest on track, but after the tyre changes the speed vanished. We have to analyse it because the potential is clearly there, both in the driver and the car.
We just need to unlock it." Wolff added that even if the championship slips away, Russell will bounce back and remain a contender in future title battles. "George can have good races, bad races, good years and bad years, but he’s a driver who has already won everything he could have at the junior level – every karting championship, Formula 3 in his rookie year, Formula 2 in his rookie year, then onto Williams.
He’s a top‑tier talent. We need to discover what it takes for him to unleash that potential fully. The psychological side is huge; a season like this is a beating, but the great drivers recover.
George has everything needed to fight for championships. Even if this one sails away, more will come." The F1 calendar continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicking off a triple‑header of races from September 24‑26, with the Baku race scheduled for a Saturday. Fans can follow the action live on Sky Sports F1, streamed via NOW with a flexible, cancel‑anytime subscription.