George Russell opens up on mental exhaustion after frustrating 2026 F1 season
George Russell has admitted he is mentally exhausted after a season in which he has repeatedly had to overcome challenges.
The Mercedes driver started 2026 as the favourite for the title, but after a string of issues outside of his control and incredible performances from his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, he watched on as the Italian became world champion in Mexico.
Speaking to the media at Interlagos on Thursday, Russell said that even reaching Brazil, where he celebrated his first Formula 1 win in 2022, had not lifted him.
“As I said, I probably just feel a bit exhausted this season of constantly picking myself back up,” he said. “When you get kicked to the ground, you pick yourself back up, then you get kicked down again, you pick yourself back up and I was hoping to do that maybe twice in the season not every other weekend, really.
“When you get to a point of this season, you’re away from home for three weeks in a row and you have another race like what happened in Mexico where a chance of victory, a chance at the podium just disappears totally outside of your control, is tough to deal with. It’s very tough to deal with.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
“So Brazil was a place that I love. I’ve got great memories. Do I come in with high expectations? Honestly, no. But looking forward to next year, for sure.”
The Briton revealed he had gone back through the whole season with his engineers after Mexico and found that only six races had been free of problems.
“14 of those races, we’ve had things that have been what we thought was bad luck,” he said. “But we need to start questioning things more deeply when it’s happening so often, and especially on our side.”
Russell is currently fourth in the drivers’ standings on 250 points, 11 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who sits second on 261 points, and nine points behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who sits third on 259 points.
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