Nico Rosberg is convinced that George Russell is currently fueled by an extraordinary level of determination, a fire that once helped him overturn a series of defeats to best Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg believes Russell’s present drive mirrors that same "insane motivation" as he battles Kimi Antonelli, the rising star who has been eclipsing him in the championship. At this stage of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Russell’s aspirations of clinching his maiden world title appear increasingly remote. His teammate, the in‑form Antonelli, has built an 81‑point cushion at the top of the standings, a margin that seems daunting with just nine races remaining.
Since winning the season‑opening Australian Grand Prix in March, Russell, who entered the year as the pre‑season favourite, has managed to finish ahead of Antonelli only twice in the last ten races they both completed. The young Italian has already secured his seventh and eighth victories of the campaign during the back‑to‑back events at Monza and Madrid. Following 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 2016 championship after being soundly beaten by Hamilton the previous year.
Rosberg answered candidly: "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." He went on to draw a direct parallel with Russell’s current predicament: "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 super 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 when paired with Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside rookie Antonelli (2025). To repeat that success this year, a dramatic reversal of fortunes is required, especially with the calendar now winding down.
Rosberg praised Russell’s relentless work ethic, noting that the British driver is a perfectionist who scrutinises every facet of his performance. "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 said. "I know he's doing everything he can, and I admire that." Nevertheless, Rosberg acknowledged the mental strain that accompanies such a slump.
"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." The pressure intensified after Antonelli’s victory at Monza, where Russell’s teammate started from a penalised 19th position yet still managed to win, leaving Russell 66 points behind.
Heading into the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, Russell admitted he would need a stroke of luck to keep his title hopes alive. The deficit swelled to a season‑high 81 points after a disappointing weekend in Madrid, marred by a problematic Q3 and an early Virtual Safety Car that compromised his race strategy.
That result led Russell to effectively rule himself out of the drivers' championship on Sunday evening. Looking ahead to the upcoming races, beginning with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 24‑26 September, Russell told F1 that his focus remains on incremental progress: "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 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 just to focus on race‑by‑race and trying to focus on getting some good results." Mercedes remain confident that Russell can rediscover his form.
Team principal Toto Wolff was asked what aspect of Russell’s performance the team is scrutinising most closely. 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." Despite the current gap, Wolff believes Russell will bounce back and continue to be 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 the driver that has won everything that he could have potentially won before," Wolff said, recalling Russell’s impressive junior résumé: "Every single karting championship, Formula 3 in his rookie year, Formula 2 in his rookie year, went into the Williams.
I mean, we're talking about a top driver. We need to find out what is it for him to be able 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 that one has maybe sailed, there will be more." The narrative of Russell’s season thus far is one of resilience in the face of adversity.
While the championship leaderboard may not reflect his ambitions, the combination of his work ethic, the support of a seasoned team, and the lessons learned from past comebacks suggest that he remains a driver capable of turning the tide. As the F1 calendar moves into its final stretch, every point will be vital, and Russell’s ability to extract performance from the W‑17 under pressure will be the ultimate test of his resolve.
Fans can continue to follow the drama live on Sky Sports F1, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicking off a triple‑header of races from 24‑26 September, including a Saturday race in Baku. The season’s climax promises high‑octane action, and while Russell may no longer be in the drivers' title hunt, his quest for race wins and a strong finish in the constructors' championship remains very much alive.