Nico Rosberg sees George Russell fighting with a fierce, almost desperate drive to overturn his recent string of defeats to Kimi Antonelli, much like the determination he displayed when he finally overcame Lewis Hamilton to claim the 2016 world title. At present, Russell's chances of securing his maiden championship appear increasingly remote, with Antonelli, the in-form Mercedes teammate, enjoying an 81‑point advantage at the summit of the drivers' standings. Since his triumph at the opening Australian Grand Prix in March, Russell—once tipped as the pre‑season favourite—has managed to finish ahead of Antonelli only twice in the ten races they have both completed. The British driver has watched the young Italian collect his seventh and eighth victories of the season during the back‑to‑back events at Monza and Madrid.
Following Sunday's race, where Russell settled for fifth place, Rosberg was asked by Sky Sports F1 about the emotions he experienced while bouncing back to win the title after being soundly beaten by Hamilton the year before. "I was driven a lot by the pain," Rosberg recalled. "It was agonising to keep losing to Lewis, and that pain turned into an insane motivation." He believes Russell is now in a comparable situation. "George is absolutely furious at being out‑performed by Kimi," Rosberg said.
"He will be working harder than ever because I know he never gives up. He hates being beaten over and over again, and that frustration fuels him.
The difficulty, however, is that we still don't understand where his pace has vanished." Russell has been Mercedes' top point‑scorer in three of his last four seasons with the team—twice when he was paired with Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside rookie Antonelli (2025). To repeat that success this year, a dramatic reversal is required, especially with only nine races remaining on the calendar. Rosberg remains confident that Russell's relentless work ethic will eventually produce a breakthrough with the W17, though he acknowledges that the 28‑year‑old will inevitably question himself. "I'm very impressed with George's approach because he's a perfectionist who analyses every facet of his performance," the former champion added.
"He gives everything he has, and I admire that. Yet it's painful for him because he can't pinpoint why his speed has dropped. He's always been quick, always on par with his teammate, and now it feels like something has slipped away." The mental strain becomes evident when a driver begins to doubt his own abilities. "You start asking yourself, 'Am I not good enough?
Was I better in the past and now I'm doing something wrong?'" Rosberg explained. "That self‑questioning is extremely tough, no matter how confident you think you are." After being out‑performed by Antonelli at Monza—despite his teammate starting from a penalised 19th position 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 ballooned 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 him effectively out of the championship battle. Looking ahead to the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, scheduled for 24‑26 September, Russell told F1 that his focus remains on incremental progress.
"Just keep pushing forward. The last two races have been more positive, even if the results weren't great.
It's the story of the season—stay focused on performance, keep helping the team, and aim for good finishes race by race," he said. "We are in a strong position for the constructors' title, but realistically I'm not fighting for the drivers' championship, so I can concentrate on each race individually." Mercedes remain convinced that Russell can rediscover his peak form.
Team principal Toto Wolff admitted uncertainty about the source of the problem. "I don't know exactly where the pace has gone," Wolff said.
"You could see him catching Leclerc at the end of a stint, the fastest on track, but after the tyre changes the speed disappears. We have to analyse it because the potential is there—in the car and in George. We just need to unlock it." Wolff is confident that even if this championship slips away, Russell will bounce back and remain a contender in future title fights.
"George can have good races, bad races, strong seasons and weaker ones, but he has already won everything he could have at the junior level—every karting championship, Formula 3 and Formula 2 in his rookie year, then a seat at Williams," Wolff noted. "He's a top‑class driver. We need to find out what it takes to unleash his full potential. The psychological side is also crucial.
When you endure a season like this, you take a beating, but the great drivers recover. George has everything required to fight for championships. Even if this one slips away, more opportunities will come." As the F1 calendar moves into its final stretch, the focus will be on whether Russell can translate his intense motivation into tangible results. The upcoming triple‑header in Baku, with the race on a Saturday, offers a fresh platform for the British driver to test his resolve, work with the engineers to recapture lost speed, and perhaps spark the turnaround that could keep his championship aspirations alive, even if only in the form of a late‑season surge that re‑establishes him as a genuine contender for future titles.