As RaceFans reports, George Russell is pointing the finger at specific technical traits of this year's machines for why he has fallen behind his teammate in the standings. While Andrea Kimi Antonelli heads into the weekend virtually guaranteed to secure the championship on the back of nine wins, Russell has only managed three victories this season, starting with his opening win in Australia.
“I think there’s just a few factors with the cars this year that potentially favour or hinder a certain driving style,” Russell explained. He noted that his preference for focusing on the mid-to-exit phase of corners often puts him on the throttle earlier than most. With the new power units, however, that habit burns more energy and turns out to be less efficient.
I think for every driver on the grid, there’s only one position that matters, and it’s P1,
Compounding that issue are the tyres. “Secondly, the tyre pressures this year, especially on the rear, have been very, very high,” Russell said. “Pirelli are taking a few PSI margin, especially in the rear axle. So again, that sort of has hindered me a little bit by pushing the exits. The rear tyre can’t cope with it as well, and there’s been a bit of a hindrance on the power unit side.” Those two combined factors have clashed directly with his natural approach behind the wheel.
The campaign has been a bizarre roller-coaster of pace. Russell pointed to stark contrasts, such as leaving a difficult weekend in Monaco only to sweep every session and take pole in Barcelona, followed by another pole in Austria. Yet that brilliance vanished on other weekends where he qualified down in fifth and sixth, or took pole by eight tenths in Baku only to qualify seventh in Malaysia.
It is a strange shift for a driver who prides himself on consistency. In past years with inferior machinery, like 2022 when he drove the third-best car on the grid, he achieved top-five finishes in 19 out of 22 races. Now, having the best car has brought fewer rewards and plenty of head-scratching despite the effort.
Despite watching the title slip away to his teammate, Russell insists their personal dynamic remains intact. “On a personal level, Kimi is obviously a great guy and has lots of energy,” he said, adding that the absence of frequent on-track clashes has kept the garage calm because Antonelli has simply operated at a higher level all year.
With the championship practically out of reach, finishing second holds zero appeal. “I think for every driver on the grid, there’s only one position that matters, and it’s P1,” Russell stated. For him, the final points order matters far less than ending the year on strong personal performance momentum.
