Russell admits to being at 'low point' before F1 title resurgence
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix on June 28, 2026, his first victory since the season-opening race in Melbourne, reducing Kimi Antonelli's Drivers' Championship lead to 40 points (a 10-point swing as Antonelli finished third in Spielberg).
- Russell admitted he was at a "low point" entering Barcelona, citing "tough races" and Antonelli's "pretty spectacular performances" week in and week out, but praised his own "resilience" in securing back-to-back poles and the Austrian win.
- Antonelli had stretched his lead to 68 points after Monaco, a record-extending victory that made the Italian teenager the first driver in F1 history to win the first five races of his career in succession.
- Russell claimed only one podium during Antonelli's five-race winning streak but rebounded with second place in Barcelona (where Antonelli retired with a technical failure) and pole-to-flag victory at the Red Bull Ring.
- Russell conceded he is unsure whether the form will carry to next weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, saying he was at times "six tenths behind Kimi" in Austria before pulling "two tenths ahead" in Q3 without understanding why.
Why it matters: Russell halved the gap to Antonelli from 68 to 40 points in two races, reigniting a title fight that had looked over. But his own admission of unexplained pace swings — from six tenths off to two tenths ahead within a single weekend — shows Mercedes' intra-team battle hinges on solving a consistency problem neither driver has fully cracked.
Ask SkimNews
