George Russell releases F1 statement after no-show at Mexican Grand Prix

George Russell has broken his silence after his F1 title dreams for 2026 officially came down at Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.

Even before the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, Russell needed a sporting miracle to win the title that consisted of five straight wins and hoping Kimi Antonelli didn't score more than two points.

No one was of course surprised then when the Italian became F1's youngest world champion in Mexico with a third place finish, while George Russell, plagued by power unit issues and a 10-second penalty, could only finish sixth.

After sportingly congratulating his Mercedes team-mate on his title, and fighting back the tears as he hugged his boss Toto Wolff, the British driver disappeared from view after the race.

With Mercedes' approval, he declined to give any media interviews at all which resulted in Mercedes being handed a €5000 fine by the stewards.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton demands Ferrari showdown talks after Leclerc drama

George Russell breaks silence

Russell, who started the season in excellent fashion after winning the Australian Grand Prix, has seen his form and fortune decline ever since, and through social media has finally released a statement on his 2026.

He said: "Now feels like a pretty suitable moment to speak from the heart.

"This season started off exactly how I had hoped but it very quickly unravelled with tough luck and poor performances.

"It’s been the first proper season of my career where I’ve had more bad days than good. Has it been tough to deal with? Yes, very. Has it been tough to pick myself up week in, week out? Yes, very. Confusion at times? Often.

"All I know is that I’ve given it my all and 2026 was not meant to be my year.

"I want to sincerely congratulate Kimi on what has been an absolutely incredible season. You truly deserve the Championship.

"Thank you to the team for producing the best car and power unit this season; it’s been inspiring to see everyone coming together over four tough years to bring Mercedes back to the top.

"Now, all I can promise is that for the rest of this season, and into the next one, I will be giving my absolute all to rediscover the performance I have been capable of producing for the majority of my career and fingers crossed a little bit of luck returns.

"Thanks for all the support."

Russell will be back in the car for Mercedes at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix and he will be hoping to channel past glories to recover his best form, having achieved his first F1 win at Interlagos in 2022.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by George Russell (@georgerussell63)

READ MORE: F1 star denies 'violence' allegations after shock exit at Mexican Grand Prix

READ MORE: Isack Hadjar PUSHES fan in extraordinary Mexican GP altercation

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography