Russell reveals surprise feeling as his first real F1 title fight begins

George Russell says he has surprised himself with how naturally he has handled the first real title battle of his Formula 1 career.

After joining Mercedes in 2022, many expected Russell to become a championship contender immediately. Instead, the team went through a difficult period and the opportunity did not arrive until the 2026 season.

Now Mercedes are back at the front, but Russell says his mentality has not changed.

"I was a bit surprised about that myself. I'm just going about my process day to day. Every time I get in a race car, I don't think about the big picture, which is winning the championship," the Mercedes driver said, as quoted by BBC.

He added that his focus is on qualifying, race starts and trying to win each race, because that is the only route to the title. Russell believes this mindset comes from his early years in karting and junior categories, where every championship felt like the biggest challenge of his life at the time.

The Briton started the season strongly with victory in Australia and a sprint win in China. But since then, momentum has shifted. A technical issue in qualifying in China helped team-mate Kimi Antonelli take pole and his first Formula 1 win. In Japan, bad timing with the Safety Car hurt Russell again, while Antonelli won for a second race in a row. That means Russell is now nine points behind the Italian before Miami.

Still, Russell remains relaxed and says the current Mercedes advantage has changed the nature of the fight.

"At the moment, we're just battling against one another," Russell admitted.

He explained that in previous seasons, small mistakes could cost several positions because more teams were competitive. This year, recovery has been easier:

"This year, so far, we're not really getting punished for our mistakes."

Russell also praised Antonelli and said he expects the battle to stay close across the season. At the same time, he admitted he would enjoy seeing more rivals involved, including Max Verstappen. Despite past tensions between the two drivers, now the situation is much calmer.

"We've got a bit of respect for one another," Russell conclueded.

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