It was another difficult weekend for George Russell in Monaco. Unlike Kimi Antonelli, the British driver was unable to find the right balance between Friday and Saturday and had to settle for sixth place in qualifying, finishing almost four tenths behind his pole-sitting teammate.
The result continues a difficult period for George Russell, who has struggled to match the pace of the young Italian since the Japanese Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli, now in only his second Formula 1 season, has increasingly emerged as the benchmark within the Mercedes garage.
George Russell: “Something in my driving style is not helping the car”
What appears to be missing for George Russell at the moment is confidence, something he had in abundance during the opening rounds of the season. His pole position in Canada seemed to suggest that confidence had returned, but the race quickly told a different story as Kimi Antonelli immediately demonstrated superior pace when the lights went out. Russell’s retirement only added to the disappointment.
“There is clearly something in my way of driving that is not helping the car at the moment, but it was also there at the beginning of the year. In Melbourne and at least in China, before I had my issues, I was P1 in every single session and every lap I did was good. The last three races have simply been nothing. Even in Canada, I was nowhere until the final lap of three different sessions.”
Arriving in Monaco, the situation appeared to repeat itself. Mercedes struggled throughout Friday before finding a setup direction overnight that allowed the team to fight for pole position. However, that breakthrough only seemed to work on one side of the garage.
Unfortunately for George Russell, it was not his side.
“When I went out in FP3 on my first lap, I was ahead of everyone and everything felt normal again. But from that point onwards, it simply wasn’t the same anymore. I don’t really have an answer right now until I can make some adaptation changes and continue working on it.”
George Russell: “There is a difference in our driving styles”
The substantial gap between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in Monaco qualifying, with the Italian securing pole position by nearly four tenths of a second, may be partly explained by the different driving approaches adopted by the two Mercedes drivers.
Kimi Antonelli tends to be more aggressive, particularly on corner entry and through the middle phase of the corner. That characteristic has become one of his greatest strengths this season, especially around a circuit such as Monaco. Ironically, it was also a trait that occasionally created difficulties for him last year.
“I think there is clearly a difference in driving style between us, which worked very much in my favour last year and in his favour this year. But that still doesn’t explain why I was so strong at the beginning of the year and why I am so far behind now. We need to understand why that is happening.”
Russell also highlighted some of the areas where Antonelli currently appears to have the upper hand.
“He is getting the tyres into the right temperature window better, he is finding a better balance over the course of a lap and the pace is coming more naturally. So I don’t know exactly why that is.”
What makes the situation even more frustrating for George Russell is that Mercedes‘ recent upgrades do not appear to have solved the problem.
“We introduced them halfway through the Canada weekend and I was still cold. I have a few ideas about why that might be. I’ve driven this way for my entire career and now, for some reason, it just isn’t working with this car.”
The British driver also pointed to a parallel with Kimi Antonelli’s adaptation process last season.
“Last year Kimi was trying to drive the way I drove and it wasn’t working for him either. That’s just how it was. It’s not an excuse. It’s simply reality. I need to work with the team to adapt my driving style to compensate for these new tyres and these new cars, or I need to find a different setup that works better for me. Right now, nothing is really clicking.”
The comments offer a revealing insight into the current dynamics inside Mercedes. While Kimi Antonelli continues to grow in confidence and deliver increasingly impressive performances, George Russell is still searching for the setup and driving approach that will allow him to unlock the full potential of the W17.
With several races still remaining in the season, Mercedes will undoubtedly work to understand the reasons behind the diverging performances of its two drivers. For now, however, Monaco provided further evidence that Kimi Antonelli has found a strong connection with the current car, while George Russell continues to search for answers.
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