George Russell admits F1 2026 has “tested my character” as Antonelli closes in on title

The winning start to 2026 for George Russell in Australia feels long ago by now, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli closes in on this year’s F1 crown, and the British driver has openly admitted to this being a testing campaign.

Russell came into the year as the preseason favourite. Mercedes had developed the best power unit for the new regulations and driving for a factory team gives inherent benefits compared to a customer outfit whenever the balance of performance within the regulations is tilted towards the engine and away from the chassis.

That opening win in Australia set Russell off to the perfect start, but already from the second race in China things started to go wrong with a car problem in Q3 opening the door for Antonelli to take pole.

Since then, the Italian second-year driver has won eight times while his more experienced team-mate has won only three times in 2026, including that Australia victory.

Russell has had his fair share of bad luck this year, most recently with engine problems in Sepang which were then compounded the following week in Singapore with grid penalties. 

But his performance has also lagged behind that of his Mercedes team-mate.

Both shortcomings – the lack of performance at certain races and the “misfortune”, as Russell dubs it, with reliability – have contributed to the difficulty of the 2026 season for the Brit.

“It has been a very unique season, it has been a season where it’s tested my character and resilience a lot,” George Russell told Formula1.com after FP2 at the US Grand Prix, where Antonelli has his first mathematical chance at the title.

“Having to look at myself in the mirror numerous times and think ‘How do I want to bounce back from these blows?’ Do I want to give up and accept the misfortune or the poor performances? Or do I want to rectify it and make the most of it, and control everything I can control? 

“I can at least be proud of myself that I’ve always put up a fight and I’ve always done my utmost to keep myself in the fight. 

“I’ve got a great team around me and this won’t be my last shot when I’ve got a car underneath me that can fight for victories.”

Russell added that he feels he has made progress compared to earlier in the season when he felt lost in his lack of performance.

“I don’t really have any major feelings running through my body when I say that we’re no longer in the fight this season because I think, when I look back earlier in the year, the things that were keeping me up at night weren’t necessarily the fact of the championship, it was more that my performance wasn’t where I wanted it to be,” he explained.

“It was more like ‘How am I going to get my performance back to the levels I know I’m capable of? What do I need from the car, what do I need to change in my driving to get back on top of things?’ 

“Then, obviously, with the misfortune, that just added salt to the wound. 

“But I intend to be here for many years to come and you can’t give up when you’re being kicked to the floor, you’ve got to bounce back even stronger. 

“It leaves me proud that I’ve given it my all in that regard.”