The George Russell moment of madness that cost him his 100% record

George Russell's moment of madness at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year cost him the chance of racing in 100 per cent of all racing laps in 2025.

Russell performed magnificently well during the 2025 season, winning two grands prix and finishing fourth in the drivers' championship.

The Brit took his role as team leader at Mercedes alongside teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli very seriously, taking over from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Of course, Russell will be hoping to actually be in the championship fight himself next year, but for now he can enjoy the winter knowing that he had a pretty solid season at Mercedes last year.

And Russell almost became the only driver of the season to race in all 1444 laps on the F1 calendar, with just a silly moment of madness at the Monaco GP in May stopping him from doing exactly that.

Russell finished the season having raced in 99.9 per cent of all racing laps in 2025, a nod to both Mercedes' brilliant reliability and his consistency.

However, knowing that was Russell's plan and that he had made no attempt whatsoever to make the chicane, race stewards slammed him with a drive-through penalty, completely ruining his race and leaving him down in 11th.

It also meant that he dropped to two laps behind race winner Norris, meaning that he didn't actually race in all of the laps of that race.

Russell's 2026 hopes

Mercedes are said to be best placed to master the regulation changes that are coming to F1 in 2026, with a potential shake up of the competitive order of the sport set to take place.

Team principal Toto Wolff has already made the bold claim that the new power units might mean that the 2026 cars can go up to 400kph, and the team are also pushing hard with the new regulations chassis-side.

Russell - who has recently signed a new contract with the Brackley outfit - will be confident that he can mount a serious challenge for the title, if Mercedes provide him with a car capable of doing just that.

Alongside teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes have an exciting driver lineup for the 2026 season and beyond.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton retirement verdict revealed by F1 insider

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