George Russell now emulating Michael Schumacher with behind-the-scenes Mercedes preparations

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Mercedes driver George Russell showed why he’s now considered one of the fastest drivers in Formula 1 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Singapore Grand Prix was expected to be a shootout between the McLaren drivers and Max Verstappen, with Ferrari once again given an outside chance of being competitive.

What transpired was Mercedes driver George Russell producing two laps capable of claiming pole position before controlling the race from start to finish to earn the fifth Grand Prix victory of his career.

Mercedes might have tweaked Russell’s car in the build-up to the race, but with teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli only capable of qualifying fourth and finishing fifth, it was the British driver’s talent that earned him victory.

Russell joined Mercedes in 2022 after Lewis Hamilton had controversially been denied an eighth world championship.

But, he hoped after three years at backmarkers Williams that he would now be in a car worthy of challenging for wins and titles.

That hasn’t transpired, but Sky Sports presenter Simon Lazenby has noticed a change in Russell behind the scenes this year that will remind some fans of Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher.

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What George Russell has changed at Mercedes that shows he’s got a ‘point to prove’

Lazenby was asked on the Inside the Piranha Club Podcast whether he believed Russell would be leading the drivers’ championship if he were a McLaren driver this year, and he said: “Yeah, I just think he’s come on so much, don’t you?

“He’s one of those drivers who’s just consistently improving, and it is that attention to detail.

“And actually, just you look at what he does going into race weekends, and I know they all do it to some extent, but he’s always looking at little things.

“Like he’s going on about how he’s looking at the long-term degradation of his body over time and looking at ways to improve that.

“Whether that be his brain, his eyes, making sure his nerves are absolutely as tight as they need to be, he’s always improving. He’s taking ice baths, he’s looking at his nutrition like they all are, but it’s his sleep patterns.

“It’s everything like wearing blue blocker sunglasses before he goes to bed so that he can get his body ready, so he’s always primed to go to sleep when he needs to go to sleep and make sure he recovers.

“So, this isn’t by chance. He leaves no stone unturned. And I wish him all the luck in the world.

“I know that the others do, too. But I just think that there’s something different about him. He really has got a point to prove.”

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How George Russell’s preparations compare to Michael Schumacher

Russell’s attitude to constantly improving is very similar to how Ross Brawn described Schumacher in 1997.

In an interview with The Independent, he explained: “He’s got the taste.

“He never gives less than 100 per cent, but there’s a difference between believing you have a chance and not believing you have a realistic chance. It’s a mental thing.”

Russell might not have been handed a car worthy of winning a championship yet, but, like Schumacher, he’s preparing as if he’s going to be a title contender very soon.

The next step for Russell is to turn Mercedes into his team in the same way that Schumacher and Ferrari became interchangeable.

However, Russell is stuck in contract negotiations with Toto Wolff, as the Mercedes team boss still has one eye on signing Verstappen in the future and is a huge believer in Antonelli.

If he can’t become the clear number one driver at Mercedes, then he will need to offer his services to another team.

Given how people are talking about Mercedes’ chance in 2026, that’s not an option that Russell will be keen to take.