Here's the thing about a brilliant drive: you rarely see the noise a driver is fighting away from the cockpit. According to Crash.net, Mercedes driver George Russell has pulled back the curtain on his stunning victory at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2025, revealing that a lot was happening behind the scenes that weekend.
It was a particularly sweet redemption for a track that hasn't always been kind to him. Most notably, a brutal last-lap crash denied him a podium finish back in 2023. But when Austrian broadcaster Orf Sport showed him images of his 2025 celebrations with his partner Carmen Mundt, the Brit made it clear those moments carried extra weight.
Reacting to the photographs, Russell explained that his brain was psychologically quite busy with off-track matters that people never got to see. Putting the machine on pole and taking the victory right after dealing with those personal hurdles made the triumph exceptionally special, especially with Carmen there to share it.
That high-water mark stands in sharp contrast to a 2026 campaign that has been heavily marred by bad luck and a 102-point deficit to his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, leaving Russell sitting in second place in the standings. Heading into the year as the favourite for the title, Russell has instead watched his Italian teammate rack up eight wins to his own three, with engine failures in places like Sepang costing him dearly.
Things went sideways again at Singapore this year, where Russell crashed out of the lead during the Sprint and could only salvage a ninth-place finish. With Kimi Antonelli now poised to potentially clinch the championship at the next race in Austin—provided he wins and Russell finishes ninth or lower—the fight might soon be over. Back in July after the British Grand Prix, Russell already sounded resigned to the gap, admitting that battling Kimi in a fair fight is tough at the best of times.
