The crucial change behind George Russell’s F1 revival explained

George Russell has credited driving more “freely” for his return to form following the Formula 1 summer break. 

After enduring a hugely difficult first half of the 2026 season, in which he has largely been outperformed by Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Russell has looked more like his old self at the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Russell claimed pole position which he converted into a controlled victory in the Zandvoort sprint race, before securing a front row grid spot for Sunday’s main grand prix. 

The 28-year-old Briton missed out on a second pole in as many days by just over a tenth but outpaced Antonelli in the sister Mercedes by 0.031s. 

After qualifying, Russell detailed the changes he has been working on to improve his form, including a shift in his driving style to an approach closer to that of his team-mate. 

“The truth is, obviously Kimi’s been doing an amazing job this season, and clearly the two of us have quite different driving styles. That was apparent last year, and it is really working well for him with this car and these tyres,” Russell explained. 

“I’m just trying to implement something similar into my driving style. I kind of describe it as like if you change your golf swing, you’ll probably take half a step back before making those improvements. 

“I think the break just allowed me to put those learnings into the back of my mind, come here this weekend, not fixating on what I want to try and achieve with the car and the tyres, but knowing in the back of my head what I need to achieve and just drive more freely. 

“I’m really, really proud of that because it’s just sort of building that toolbox of experience for me that’s going to allow me to be even better in the years to come. 

“Who knows, maybe next year the technique is totally different again. That’s the beauty and challenge of Formula 1. Every year it’s different.”

But Russell, who came into the campaign as the overwhelming title favourite, is not getting carried away and was quick to bat away suggestions this weekend could be a ‘game-changing’ moment for the rest of his season. 

“I’m just going to take it race by race. I’m not going to come away from this weekend and say all issues are resolved,” said Russell, who trails championship leader Antonelli by 56 points. 

“I do think I made some big changes going into the Barcelona weekend, and as I said earlier this morning, I had some good races, Barcelona and Austria. 

“Then Silverstone and Spa, we had the PU issue, and Budapest was just not a competitive weekend on my side. So, I think it just hasn’t been a clean run this season. It has not been a clean season whatsoever with all of the issues that we’ve had. 

“But I just feel… I think after the break, I just feel way more relaxed. I don’t feel like I’ve got anything to lose. The pressure’s off. I’m just going to go out, enjoy it, and I don’t even really feel in a fight. 

“It’s not mine to lose, it’s mine to gain. So that’s the mentality I’ve got, and I feel it’s going to help me. I’m just enjoying driving.”