As Motorsport.com reports, George Russell has finally broken his silence on why he completely skipped his media obligations following the Mexican Grand Prix last weekend. The Mercedes Formula 1 driver chose to leave the Mexico City circuit shortly after Sunday's race, but not before congratulating his team-mate Kimi Antonelli on clinching his maiden world championship.
That departure came with a price tag, as the FIA handed Mercedes a €5000 fine for the missing media appearance. However, the decision had the blessing of the team principal Toto Wolff, who gave Russell the green light to leave the track.
Here is the thing: Russell entered the 2026 season as a clear favourite for the title. Instead, a relentless wall of hurdles completely outside of his control derailed his campaign, forcing him to watch helplessly as his team-mate extended his lead in the standings and ultimately secured the crown.
Speaking to F1.com at Interlagos ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Russell laid it out plainly. "As much as I love talking to [the media] after the race, I didn’t really fancy it on this occasion," he said. "So I was like, 'I’m going to just get out of here and go for a nice dinner and think about something other than the rubbish season we’ve had.'"
Admitting that ducking out early was far from ideal, the Briton still refused to treat it as a catastrophe. "In racing you always pick yourself back up, and for me, the best way to pick myself back up was getting out of there," Russell added.
"It was as simple as that, really. I was just very upset with missing out on the chance of a good result because the championship for me was already over but I just couldn't believe how things had panned out again. In that moment, yeah, I just wanted to get out of there."
Despite the frustration, Russell maintains that his conduct is normally above reproach. "I think I'm 99% of the time a true professional and I try not to spit my dummy out, but sometimes missing out on doing the press – OK, it's not ideal but not the end of the world. Moments like that you don't really want to deal with it."
There is still business to attend to on track, as Russell remains locked in the fight for second in the drivers' championship, while Mercedes has yet to mathematically clinch the constructors' title.
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