Why Russell feels 'like a golfer changing his swing' after overcoming early struggles

George Russell has explained that getting used to the characteristics of Mercedes’ 2026 challenger is akin to “a golfer changing his swing”, as the Briton has gradually uncovered why he has struggled to find a consistent rhythm.

After enduring reliability troubles and a lack of performance relative to Kimi Antonelli, who claimed a remarkable five wins in a row between China and Monaco, Russell bounced back with victory at the Austrian Grand Prix and has reduced his team mate’s advantage to 25 points.

His resurgence coincided with a run of misfortune for the Italian as car issues prevented him from scoring in two out of the three most recent Grands Prix, but Russell admitted that he’s still learning how to feel comfortable in the car.

“You naturally evolve your driving style to suit what is needed,” he said ahead of Round 10 at Spa-Francorchamps. “When I raced in Formula 4, Formula 3, Formula 2, F1 at Williams and then the previous generation, my style suited what was needed for all of those cars.

“This year, we’ve seen a lot of trends that my style isn’t quite suiting what the power unit needs, what the tyres need, and we’re just needing to adapt the set-up to something that I’ve not really run before.

“It’s kind of forcing me to drive a bit more consciously rather than subconsciously, which is also a bit of a negative. I’m hoping I’m in a bit of a learning pit before I can then take advantage of those learnings.

“I guess it’s like a golfer changing his swing – it’s probably going to take a small step backwards first, and then you relearn that new swing and it’s better. That feels a little bit where I’m at at the moment.”

Although Russell has his sights set on the standings lead, especially with the summer break coming up shortly, he also conceded that Antonelli isn’t his only rival in the title battle.

Ferrari have consistently improved throughout the season and now have two victories of their own, with Lewis Hamilton winning in Barcelona before Charles Leclerc beat Russell to the top step at Silverstone – Hamilton is currently just seven points adrift of his fellow Briton.

Asked whether he believes Ferrari's progress is circuit-specific, Russell replied: “I think they are definitely a permanent threat. They’ve been getting stronger and stronger throughout this season. It’s been very impressive to see the quantity of upgrades they’re bringing.

“The power unit for them at Silverstone looked much stronger than we’ve seen earlier in the season, and we know they have a fantastic chassis and great reliability. I think they’re going to be a real threat.”