Mercedes is considering giving George Russell “all the force” to secure a 1-2 in the drivers’ championship after a nightmare run of form.
Three rounds remain in the 2026 season – assuming the Qatar and Abu Dhabi grands prix proceed as planned – with no fewer than five drivers in contention for the runner-up spot: Max Verstappen (279 points), Russell (262), Lewis Hamilton (261), Charles Leclerc (249) and Lando Norris (246) after Kimi Antonelli clinched his maiden Formula 1 world title in Mexico.
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Russell has been on a catastrophic streak over the last five grands prix, scoring just 26 points to Verstappen’s 116. The Briton suffered a power unit failure in Malaysia, crashed out of the sprint and took an engine penalty in Singapore, had a bafflingly poor Austin race, encountered a deployment issue in Mexico and spun at pit exit when running well in Sao Paulo.
“I haven’t thought about the drivers’ championship yet,” team principal Toto Wolff commented following the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Mercedes wrapped up the constructors’ championship.
“We absolutely want him to score the maximum and hopefully finish second, and we need to think about what we’re going to do about it, but it could be a possibility that we’re giving it all the force.”
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George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Mercedes’ triumphant moment at Interlagos was its ninth in F1 and second with Russell, who contributed three points to the Silver Arrows’ 2020 crown as he stood in for Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Asked how to find encouragement for Russell ahead of 2027, Wolff said: “You know, it’s George’s championship today, it’s the constructors’ championship, and he’s part of the team – and I’m really happy that he can cherish this moment, because we owe it to him.
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“You know, he had it so tough at times, and yesterday was a good example. He was absolutely dominating the wet qualifying, he should have been on pole easily, and then this last lap took away his pole position.
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“Now we have three races to go. We’re going to, like I said, go full blast, and he will recover, I have no doubt about that for next year. All the very best sportspeople have gone through difficult periods, and that’s going to be part of his continued development.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
