George Russell finally showed his best form in the 2026 Formula 1 season. His pole-to-flag victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix proved that Mercedes is starting to unlock the best version of the 28-year-old. But is it too little, too late?
Russell took his eighth grand prix victory and his first career grand slam in Baku, leading every lap from pole and setting the fastest lap. The result brought him closer to championship-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who started from 16th after a qualifying crash but recovered to fifth.
Russell's deficit has now shrunk from 81 to 66 points. With only eight rounds remaining and Antonelli still in fine form, Russell remains a huge outsider for the title. That's the consequence of a disappointing first half of 2026 — Russell took two wins pre-summer break to Antonelli's six. But now the improvements made since are starting to pay off.
"I didn't really consider myself in this fight for a number of races, purely because my performance wasn't strong enough," Russell said candidly. "Now I feel like if the season had started today, or since the summer break, I feel very much I would have been able to fight."
That doesn't change his approach though. The best thing he can do is take it race by race, starting with this weekend's one-off return to Malaysia. "Now I've got this big deficit," added Russell, who returned from the summer break 59 points behind Antonelli. "It can change quickly. So, I'm not chasing that. I'm chasing to win every race, and what will be, will be."
What's counting for Antonelli is how he bounced back during a Baku weekend that threatened to spiral out of control. His unforced error in Q1 left him on the back foot, but he produced a mature drive to limit the damage, rather than trying to overcompensate like McLaren's Oscar Piastri did in a similar situation 12 months ago, which led to a lap-one crash. Instead, Antonelli patiently picked off midfielders before some help from a double safety car period netted him fifth.
"There's much less pressure on me than there is on him," Russell acknowledged. "He's had an incredibly flawless season. [Qualifying] was probably his first mistake of this whole season in a proper session, and he still came home in P5."
With eight races remaining, Russell must continue to perform flawlessly if he wants to catch up. But at least he has found his rhythm. Will it be enough? Only time will tell.
Baca Juga
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