Mercedes driver George Russell says he is “proud” of the grit he has shown to follow up his second place at the Spanish Grand Prix with a victory in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
British star Russell won the opening race of the 2026 season in Melbourne, then saw team-mate Kimi Antonelli take centre stage by winning the next five grands prix.
Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton broke Antonelli’s winning streak at Barcelona-Catalunya, with Russell finishing second and McLaren’s Lando Norris sealing an all-British podium.
Russell then swept to victory in Spielberg, where Antonelli finished third behind second-placed Max Verstappen.
Tough couple of months
That means there is now just 40 points between Russell and Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship standings, and the former Williams driver told Sky Sports: “It [Melbourne] feels like a long time ago, to be honest.
“It’s been a tough couple of months with some really tricky races, with races that felt like everything was going against me, then some races with some tough performances.
“Obviously, I’ve got a really incredible team-mate next to me, who week in, week out is delivering some pretty spectacular performances.
“Going into Barcelona from quite a low point, I needed a lot of resilience to be able to get back and deliver some strong performances.
“So, to get the last two poles, to get the win here this weekend, especially on a track which I don’t think is so suited to me, I’m really, really proud.”
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Silverstone hopes for Russell
Next up is the British Grand Prix, which runs from Friday, July 3 to Sunday, July 5.
The home crowd will be hoping to see a British driver top the podium, and Russell will be “working hard” to ensure it is him taking the chequered flag.
He said: “I have a lot of confidence in myself, knowing I can do it.
“I have less confidence in being able to get everything aligned with the car, the set-up and the tyres, because it’s just been so up and down for me.
“And even this weekend, at points I was six tenths behind Kimi, and then come Q3 I was two tenths ahead. And I don’t honestly have a major answer for that.
“But those times where I managed to deliver the pole laps, the car and the tyres have felt more akin to last year, when I could deliver those performances every lap throughout a weekend.
“So, I’ll be working hard with my team to try and emulate that.”
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Michael Davey