Formula 1: Russell aiming to put ‘turbulent’ start behind him

By Dauda Musbau 

George Russell, the Mercedes driver, believes he can put a “turbulent” start to the season behind him at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, according to the BBC.

The Briton’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli is 20 points ahead of Russell at the head of the championship after winning the past three races.

But Russell has been on pole in Montreal for the last two seasons, and won here in 2025, and says he has learned a lot from what he admits was a “tough” race in Miami last time out.

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Russell said, “It’s been a turbulent start, but the truth is Miami felt like the first tough race of the season.

“I’m in a good place because I think I’ve come away from Miami, I’ve learned more in Miami than I’ve learned in the first three races of the season.”

Russell finished fourth in Miami, behind Antonelli and the McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

He said he had spent the three-week break since then working with his team on the basics, such as the set-up of the car.

Russell said this had been somewhat put to one side amid the focus on understanding the new engines introduced to F1 this year, which have a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power and require attention to energy management.

“We got some really great learning from Miami,” Russell said, “because this whole season we’ve all been so focused on the energy that the problems that we’ve all faced in F1 over the years gone by, which is get the tyres in the window, get the set-up right.”