Nico Rosberg contends that George Russell is currently fueled by a fierce, almost manic drive to overturn his recent fortunes against Kimi Antonelli, much as he once harnessed a similar fire to finally outpace Lewis Hamilton after a string of defeats. Russell’s aspirations of clinching his maiden world championship this season appear increasingly remote as his teammate, the in‑form Antonelli, now enjoys an 81‑point cushion at the summit of the drivers' standings.
Since capturing the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the year, the pre‑season favourite has only managed to finish ahead of Antonelli twice in the ten races where both have crossed the line. The British driver has watched the young Italian claim his seventh and eighth victories of the campaign during the back‑to‑back events at Monza and Madrid. When asked after Sunday's race—where Russell settled for fifth place—Rosberg reflected on his own comeback to the 2016 title after being soundly beaten by Hamilton the previous year.
"I was driven a lot by the pain," he recalled. "Subjectively, it hurt to keep losing to Lewis and that pain sparked an insane motivation. George is in a comparable spot now.
He’s absolutely driven to find any possible improvement. He’ll be working tirelessly because I know he doesn’t quit, and he hates being out‑classed by Kimi over and over again.
He’ll be grinding hard, but it’s a tricky situation because it’s hard to pinpoint where his pace has vanished." Russell has been Mercedes’ highest‑scoring driver in three of his last four seasons, topping the team’s points tally twice when paired with Hamilton (2022 and 2024) and once alongside rookie Antonelli (2025). Yet with nine races remaining, a dramatic reversal is essential if he hopes to repeat that achievement.
Rosberg believes the diligent Briton will continue to search for a breakthrough with the W17, though he acknowledges the 28‑year‑old will inevitably question himself. "I’m very impressed with George’s approach because he’s a perfectionist and tries to optimise every facet of his performance," the former champion said. "He’s giving it his all, and I admire that.
But it’s also painful because he can’t seem to locate his own rhythm. He’s always been quick, always on par with his teammate, and now that seems to have slipped away. It’s a crushing feeling—no matter how confident you are, you start to wonder, ‘Am I not good enough?
Was I better before and now I’m doing something wrong?’ That mental battle is incredibly tough." Fresh from being out‑paced by Antonelli at Monza—despite his teammate starting the race from a penalised 19th position and trailing by 66 points—Russell admitted ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that he would need a dose of luck to keep his title hopes alive. The gap widened to a season‑high 81 points after a disappointing weekend in Madrid, where a sub‑par Q3 and an early Virtual Safety Car left him far from the podium and effectively out of the drivers' championship race. Looking ahead to the upcoming events, beginning with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 24‑26, Russell told F1: "Just keep pushing forward. It’s been a more positive couple of races even though the result today was far from great.
It’s the story of the season—focus on performance, keep helping the team. We’re in a great position for the constructors' title, but realistically I’m not in the fight for the drivers' championship, so I’ll concentrate on each race and aim for solid results." Mercedes remain convinced that Russell can rediscover his form. When asked what the Briton is battling most intensely at the moment, team principal Toto Wolff replied: "I don’t know exactly; you could see the speed he had at the end when he was catching Leclerc—he was the fastest on track. After the tyre changes, that pace disappeared.
We need to analyse it because the potential is there, both in the driver and the car; we just have to unlock it." Wolff is certain that even if this title slips away, Russell will bounce back and remain a contender in future championship battles. "With George you can have good races, bad races, strong years, weak years, but we’re talking about a driver who has already won everything he could have at every level before Formula 1," he noted, recalling that Wolff signed Russell to Mercedes’ junior programme in 2017. "Every karting championship, every Formula 3 and Formula 2 title in his rookie year, then a seat at Williams—he’s a top‑tier talent. We just need to discover what it takes to unleash his full potential.
The psychological side matters too; 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, there will be many more opportunities." As the F1 calendar moves into its final stretch, the focus shifts to the triple‑header weekend in Baku, where the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will kick off on a Saturday.
Fans can follow the action live on Sky Sports F1, streaming via NOW with a flexible, no‑contract subscription that can be cancelled at any time.