Russell Vows Comeback After Title Loss to Antonelli

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff described George Russell's difficult past season as a disaster moment. The assessment came after teammate Kimi Antonelli won the world championship in impressive fashion.

Russell, 28, had entered the season as the favorite for the title. However, Antonelli, 20, exceeded expectations and became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. Antonelli took nine wins this season, while Russell finished with three. In his second season, Antonelli secured the championship by finishing third at the Mexico Grand Prix.

Russell admitted that this season was the most disappointing period of his career. After the race, Russell congratulated Antonelli and left the track without taking part in mandatory media duties, with Mercedes' permission. In a message he shared on Instagram on Monday, he wrote that the season had started badly due to bad luck and weak performances, and that he had struggled to keep going this year.

Russell sincerely congratulated Antonelli and said that 2026 was not his year. He said he would work with everything he has to regain the performance he showed for most of his career, both for the rest of this season and next season. The FIA fined Mercedes 5,000 euros ($5,610) for Russell's failure to attend post-race media duties.