George Russell said he no longer feels lost and that his confidence is returning. The British driver wants to finish the season on a high and close the gap to team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship.
Russell won in Azerbaijan last weekend, his third victory of the season and the first in three months. The driver says he has made a breakthrough in understanding how to drive his team’s car and that his performances are strong enough to compete for wins week by week. He emphasises that he knows what is required from the car and from himself.
In the championship, he trails Antonelli by 66 points, with seven or eight races remaining. He started the season as a title favourite, but Antonelli took control early on. Russell has had to adjust to the Mercedes, designed according to the new regulations for the car and engine, and has had to adapt his driving style.
Antonelli, on the other hand, had a difficult weekend in Baku. A crash in qualifying left him in 16th place on the starting grid, but he recovered to finish fifth. The Italian said it was probably his worst weekend of the season, describing the race as very strange. He consciously avoided taking risks and driving beyond the limit, and after a disrupted weekend, he needed a clean result. He was not satisfied with the race, but the key lesson he took away was that he must always give 100 per cent.
Mercedes face a stiff challenge from McLaren at the Sepang circuit this weekend, with the team having a major upgrade.
In the case of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton said that Frederic Vasseur is the man who needs to lead the team. Ferrari announced an unusual public statement of support for their boss two days earlier, following speculation about his position. The seven-time champion, who is third in the drivers' championship, said that removing Vasseur would be a mistake, that Vasseur is doing a fantastic job, that he is not going anywhere, and that he is here to stay with him. He believes that replacing him would not change the direction of the team, but would be detrimental.
Ferrari finished the 2025 season without a victory and fourth in the teams' championship. Hamilton and Leclerc each won one race this year. The team started the season with the best chassis in terms of performance in corners, but its engine is lagging behind those produced by Mercedes and Red Bull. Hamilton said they are second in the championship, which is a significant improvement on last year, but they have a power deficit of 0.4 seconds per lap, with some races seeing 0.6 seconds. Despite this, he believes they are still delivering excellent performances, have built a good foundation this year, and are not yet perfect, but believe they can reach that level. He adds that he thinks they have the best car, but are working on the power deficit for next year.
