Russell declares 'confidence is back' as he hunts down Antonelli with a third of the season left
Russell: My confidence is back and growing
George Russell says he “doesn't feel lost any more” as he seeks to end a difficult season on a high and chase down team-mate Kimi Antonelli's championship lead. After winning his third race of the season in Azerbaijan last weekend — his first for three months — the Briton believes he has made a genuine breakthrough in understanding how to drive the Mercedes car.
“The thing that's changed is I feel my performances are strong enough to fight for victory week in week out,” Russell said. “I know what I need from the car and myself and I don't really feel lost any more.
“Confidence is back and it's growing again and it's all coming a bit more naturally, which is how it has been for most of my career and not how it's been for most of the season.”
Baku breakthrough ahead of Sepang showdown
The Bahrain Grand Prix takes place this weekend in Malaysia — a race already declared a heat-hazard event — with the flowing Sepang circuit expected to suit McLaren's car. Mercedes are anticipating a strong challenge from the world champions, but arrive with their first major upgrade for some time and hope that will bring them into contention.
Asked whether another strong performance could change the psychology of the title fight, Russell said: “I've never really felt in a position to fight for the victories because my performances weren't strong enough.
“But now finally I feel I'm in a place I can fight for victory week in week out. Of course there is a big deficit in the championship, but there is a third of a season to go and still so much can happen. I am just going to go race by race. I feel more at one with the car and hopefully this upgrade will play into my favour a bit more. So bring it on.”
Russell trails Antonelli by 66 points in the championship with either seven or eight races still remaining. He started the season as championship favourite, but Antonelli took control early on as Russell struggled to get to grips with the Mercedes designed for this year's all-new car and engine rules.
“I went through a few races where I was having to think how to make those adjustments, whereas now it's all just a bit more intuitive and a bit more natural,” Russell said. “So what I set out to achieve, in terms of getting the car [into] a slightly better window, I'm now achieving without having to think about it as much. So I can just focus on driving fast.”
Antonelli: Baku was my worst weekend of the season
Antonelli, meanwhile, endured a difficult weekend at the Azerbaijani Grand Prix, crashing in qualifying to leave him 16th on the grid before recovering to fifth.
“Last weekend was probably the worst weekend from me of the season,” the Italian said. “But still good learning from the weekend and was also a very strange race for me in Baku because it was one of those races where I consciously tried not to take any risks and just drive under the limit which was very weird but it was what I needed on Sunday. I needed a clean result after a very disrupted weekend.
“I wasn't happy after the race but I learned the most important learning was I need to be always 100% because if I don't try to do everything right in my power then nothing is going to come my way.”