George Russell ended a three-month winless streak with victory in Azerbaijan last weekend, saying he no longer feels lost behind the wheel of his Mercedes and is ready to challenge teammate Kimi Antonelli in the championship.
Russell’s third win of the season has restored his confidence after a difficult run adapting to the new Mercedes car and engine package. The Briton trails Antonelli by 66 points with seven or eight races remaining, but believes the gap can still be closed.
“The thing that's changed is I feel my performances are strong enough to fight for victory week in, week out,” Russell said. “I know what I need from the car and myself and I don't really feel lost any more. Confidence is back and it's growing again and it's all coming a bit more naturally, which is how it has been for most of my career and not how it's been for most of the season.”
The Mercedes team heads to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia this weekend expecting a tough battle against McLaren, whose car suits the flowing Sepang circuit. Mercedes will introduce their first significant upgrade in some time, hoping it will improve their competitiveness.
Russell said the upgrade could influence the title fight. “I've never really felt in a position to fight for the victories because my performances weren't strong enough. But now finally I feel I'm in a place I can fight for victory week in, week out. Of course there is a big deficit in the championship, but there is a third of a season to go and still so much can happen. I am just going to go race by race. I feel more at one with the car and hopefully this upgrade will play into my favour a bit more. So bring it on.”
Russell struggled early in the year, having to “consciously adjust” his driving style to suit the Mercedes built for this season’s new regulations. He said the learning curve was steep but he is now driving more intuitively.
“I went through a few races where I was having to think how to make those adjustments, whereas now it's all just a bit more intuitive and a bit more natural,” he said. “So what I set out to achieve, in terms of getting the car [into] a slightly better window, I'm now achieving without having to think about it as much. So I can just focus on driving fast.”
Antonelli, who leads the championship, had a difficult weekend in Baku. A crash in qualifying left him 16th on the grid, but he recovered to finish fifth. The Italian described the race as “very strange” because he deliberately avoided risks to secure a clean finish after a disrupted weekend.
“Last weekend was probably the worst weekend from me of the season,” Antonelli said. “But still good learning from the weekend and was also a very strange race for me in Baku because it was one of those races where I consciously tried not to take any risks and just drive under the limit which was very weird but it was what I needed on Sunday. I needed a clean result after a very disrupted weekend.”
Antonelli admitted dissatisfaction with his performance but stressed the importance of staying focused. “I wasn't happy after the race but I learned the most important learning was I need to be always 100% because if I don't try to do everything right in my power then nothing is going to come my way.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has publicly backed Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur amid speculation about his future. Hamilton, currently third in the drivers’ standings, said removing Vasseur would be a mistake.
“He's doing a fantastic job,” Hamilton said. “If you look at the history, how many people [have been swapped] out [of] that role… and I feel like it's in a better place than it's been before.”
Hamilton added that the team’s progress this season, including wins by himself and Charles Leclerc, reflects well on Vasseur’s leadership. He pointed to Ferrari’s chassis, which has excelled in cornering, but acknowledged the engine remains behind those of Mercedes and Red Bull.
“We're second in the championship, a huge improvement on last year already,” Hamilton said. “And that's with a deficit on power of average 0.4secs every single weekend. Some races it's 0.6sec and we've still been delivering really great performances. And that just highlights how great a job people at the factory have done. All the negativity takes away from that.”
Hamilton said the team is building on last year’s foundation and working to close the power gap. “Of course we're not where we want to be but you don't go from last year's experience straight to number one. It's a process and I think we've built a good foundation this year, we need to continue to build on it. We're not perfect yet but I do believe we can get there.”
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia will be watched closely as Russell aims to build on his regained momentum and Mercedes seeks to challenge both McLaren and Antonelli’s championship lead.
According to BBC Sports.