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George Russell had the best season of his F1 career so far during the 2025 campaign, and he will head into the winter knowing he will be one of the title favourites in 2026.
The 27-year-old has never fought for the F1 drivers’ championship to date, with fourth place in the 2025 standings equalling his career-best finish. Russell also scored a career-high 319 points this term, after achieving two Grand Prix wins and a single-season high nine podiums.
Russell’s 319 points also helped Mercedes take second in the constructors’ standings, as he scored 68% of their 469 points next to rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He even took the Silver Arrows’ only Grand Prix pole positions in Canada and Singapore, which bore their only wins.
The 2025 season may now act as a warm-up for Russell to contend for his first title in 2026. Mercedes are widely expected to design the best engine for the 2026 F1 regulations, which is likely to be the biggest performance differentiator due to the increase in electrical power.
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Mercedes’s ‘inconsistency’ hid George Russell’s ‘championship-calibre’ season in 2025
Russell also stepped up to the role of team leader at Mercedes alongside Antonelli, after the Silver Arrows chose to give the latter his debut as Lewis Hamilton defected to Ferrari. Russell could step out of Hamilton’s shadow after three terms next to the seven-time F1 champion.
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James Hinchcliffe believes Russell drove a “championship-calibre season” in 2025, given the results that he was able to produce in the Mercedes W16. But their car’s deficiencies meant the Briton’s talent was occasionally hidden, as it did not allow him to deliver at every round.
Hinchcliffe told the F1 website: “George Russell drove a championship-calibre season in a car that wasn’t his match. The inconsistency in the Mercedes package at times hid the consistently high level that Russell was performing at.”
George Russell will hope to use what he learnt in 2025 to fight for the 2026 F1 drivers’ title
Russell was the most consistent driver at the start of the 2025 F1 season, as he secured top-five results in all of the first six Grand Prix qualifying sessions and races. But Mercedes’ rear suspension upgrade at Imola would derail their campaign, as it created instability problems.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations
George Russell and Franco Colapinto were the only F1 drivers to finish every Grand Prix they started in 2025
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Additionally, Russell winning the Canadian GP when Mercedes revived their rear suspension update did not help them realise the problems it created, either. Once it was then removed in Hungary, Russell returned to the rostrum and only finished outside the top six once more.
But the Mercedes W16 did not let Russell continue to battle McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri plus Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for podium finishes as often. Instead, the King’s Lynn native relied on his rivals’ misfortune or a rare round when he was on top in Singapore.
Next year could be very different for Russell and Mercedes, though, as the new regulations are widely expected to see the Silver Arrows return to the top for the first time since 2021. The Brackley bunch could never adapt to the ground-effect regulations introduced in 2022.
Mercedes’ engine for the 2026 F1 regulations has raised Ferrari’s suspicions, too, as they fear the Silver Arrows have found a loophole that could be worth as much as three tenths of a second per lap. Ferrari fear Mercedes can increase their combustion rate during operation.
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