A deflated George Russell mentioned he nonetheless hasn’t acquired to grips with Mercedes automobile after lagging behind his group mate all weekend at Silverstone.
Though Russell left his house race nearer to Andrea Kimi Antonelli within the factors standings, he admitted he had been off the tempo.
“The sensation was good, however the lap instances had been gradual,” mentioned Russell. “There have been issues outdoors of my management that contributed lots in direction of that, and issues in my management.”
Russell appeared to tug himself out of an early hunch when he scored his second victory of the season in Austria. He beforehand steered he made the error of “copy-pasting” his group mate’s set-ups.
However after trailling Antonelli all weekend at Silverstone, Russell conceded: “I’m nonetheless struggling to know this automobile.”
He unexpectedly climbed to second place within the latter levels of the race partly because of Antonelli struggling a technical downside on his automobile.
“I in all probability go away this weekend, albeit extraordinarily grateful to face on the rostrum, much less glad than in Canada, after I broke down [in] the lead.
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“If I need to struggle for the championship, the performances have to be higher. I have to be higher.
“I have to be working higher with my group. We have to be maximising all the pieces. We’ve acquired an in depth struggle now with Ferrari, so it’s not simply Kimi and I, Lewis [Hamilton] continues to be very shut. It must be improved.”
Antonelli’s late drama helped Russell shut inside 25 factors of his group mate within the championship. Russell says the hole is a good reflection on their performances to this point.
“Primarily based on my performances and primarily based on his performances over the course of those 9 races, I feel a 25-point hole in his favour might be appropriate,” he mentioned. “He has performed a greater job than me this yr up to now, so he deserves to be forward of me.
“Whether or not it needs to be 25 factors, whether or not it needs to be 10 factors, whether or not it needs to be 35 factors is a debate, however in that ballpark. I clearly misplaced 15 factors as effectively in Monaco with the drive-through penalty. I feel anyplace from 10 to 30 factors behind might be about honest.”
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2026 British Grand Prix
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