News Summary
- George Russell said the effort of repeatedly picking himself up after setbacks had left him feeling exhausted.
- A deployment problem cost Russell several places on the opening lap in Mexico City, where he had started on the front row.
- Russell questioned what Mercedes might be overlooking and said he also needed to examine his own performances.
George Russell said he was feeling the strain of having to recover from setback after setback as he arrived at Interlagos for the São Paulo Grand Prix. Speaking on Thursday, the Mercedes driver described how close he had felt to regaining some momentum in Mexico City before a problem on the opening lap left him fighting further down the field.
“I probably just feel a bit exhausted this season of constantly picking myself back up,” Russell said. He had expected to go through that process a couple of times over a season. Mexico came at the end of three weeks away from home, and the chance to fight for a win or a podium disappeared within moments of the start.
Why Mexico City was so hard for Russell to take
Russell had missed pole by just 0.009s to Lewis Hamilton and got away well from second on the grid. Then an energy deployment problem slowed the Mercedes and cost him several positions. He later made contact with Isack Hadjar while fighting for fifth, received a 10-second penalty and finished sixth.
Across the garage, Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished third to clinch his first F1 title. Russell congratulated his teammate before leaving the circuit without completing his post-race media duties. Mercedes was fined €5,000. In São Paulo, Russell explained that his disappointment centred on the result he felt had slipped away. His first instinct, he said, was simple: “I’m going to just get out of here.”
What Russell and his engineer found after Mexico
Russell went through the season race by race with his engineer after Mexico. By their count, there had been six races without an issue and 14 with a problem of some kind. Russell recalled seasons when he might encounter two such weekends and put the number at four in 2023. The contrast was what prompted him to ask whether Mercedes was missing something.
“We need to question, is there something we’re overlooking,” he said. Russell also pointed to how much the car had changed from 2025, when Mercedes finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship with a package he described as highly reliable. This year’s W17 has given him the speed to win again, with victories in Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan, but keeping that performance available throughout a weekend has been a recurring problem.
“I don’t think the team have let me down honestly because these things do happen,” Russell said. He also wants to examine where he could have done a better job himself as Mercedes prepares for 2027.
Interlagos was the scene of Russell’s first F1 win in 2022, when he held off Hamilton after a late Safety Car restart to lead a Mercedes one-two. This weekend he returns fourth in the championship on 250 points, nine behind Hamilton and 11 behind Max Verstappen. He will also have to recover from a five-place grid penalty for a new Mercedes engine on Sunday.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix in Formula 1 live from Interlagos.
