Dejected George Russell declares F1 title 'out of reach'

George Russell looks upset at the Japanese GP — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Dejected George Russell declares F1 title 'out of reach'

Mercedes' two drivers are separated by 68 points

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 12 June 2026 15:58

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Mercedes F1 driver George Russell appears to have adopted a rather defeatist attitude when it comes to his 2026 drivers' championship hopes.

Russell's mistakes and misfortune in the past couple of grand prix weekends mean that he is now a whopping 68 points behind team-mate and championship rival Kimi Antonelli, who has won the last five grands prix.

Russell has actually dropped down to third in the standings and is no longer Antonelli's nearest rival, with his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton overtaking him following a point-less outing in Monaco.

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Both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen fell a long way behind Oscar Piastri in the opening months of last season and recovered, offering a glimmer of hope to Russell.

Verstappen was over 100 points behind the lead of the championship at one stage last year, yet still only finished two points behind eventual victor Norris.

But Russell has sought ahead of the seventh round of the season to take the pressure off himself, admitting that he has parked the idea of winning the drivers' championship for now.

Instead, Russell just wants to have 'fun', and get himself back into the kind of form that we saw from him in 2025, when he claimed two grand prix victories and seven further podiums in a car that was not challenging for titles.

Russell 'not thinking' about the championship

Speaking to the media including GPFans at the Barcelona Grand Prix, Russell said: “Now the pressure feels off, to be honest. I’m just going to try and enjoy every race.

“I’m not even thinking about the championship it’s so far out of reach right now. It’s just go and enjoy the races and have fun, drive fast and do what I know I’m capable of doing and what I’ve been doing for my entire career in Formula 1. That’s what I’m excited for.”

He later said: “It’s so far to go [in the championship] but I don’t want to chase the dream, I want it to come towards me if I take it race-by-race. And that’s why I say the pressure feels off at the moment.

“I wasn’t chasing a championship last year, because that wasn’t even a possibility for us with the performance of the car, yet it was probably the strongest performing year of my Formula 1 season. 2022 against Lewis was probably my second strongest year of performance.

“The thing I have in common with those years is that I was confident. That I was driving with instinct, I wasn’t overthinking things too much and the results came.”

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Kimi Antonelli Barcelona-Catalunya Grand prix