George Russell: His best season yet
11 December 2025- Drivers’ standings: 4th
- Points: 319
- Best finish: 1st (x2)
- Best qualifying: 1st
- Podiums: 9
Entering 2025 as the de facto team leader at Mercedes F1 following Lewis Hamilton’s departure, George Russell faced a pivotal year.
The pressure was twofold: steer the Silver Arrows back to championship contention and secure his own future at Brackley.
After a season that can best be described as a mixed bag, he has achieved the latter, having confirmed he will stay with the team for 2026, but the former remains a work in progress.
While the Mercedes W16 proved to be temperamental at best, Russell’s campaign was defined by a dogged determination to extract results, even when the machinery wasn't quite up to the task.
A strong start, stalled by heat
Russell’s campaign began with plenty of promise, securing a pair of third-place finishes at the opening two rounds at Melbourne and Shanghai.
However, cracks in the W16’s armour appeared early. In Bahrain, despite a second-place finish, he battled electrical gremlins throughout the race.
It soon became apparent that the car had a major Achilles' heel: overheating. In Saudi Arabia, tyre degradation and temperature management limited him to fifth.
A strong third in Miami – aided by a well-timed pitstop under Virtual Safety Car – briefly papered over the cracks, but the start of the European season exposed the extent of the issues in full.
Mercedes brought a significant upgrade package to Imola, designed to cure the overheating, but it failed to deliver. Russell finished seventh, and the upgrade was promptly scrapped.
The struggles peaked in Monaco with 11th, marking his first non-scoring finish of the year, followed by a fourth in Barcelona, where he was visibly off the pace, once again because of heat management.
Mastering Montreal and home race heartbreak
When the F1 circus arrived in Montreal, the temperatures dropped, and Mercedes came alive. Capitalising on the cooler conditions that suited the W16 to a tee, Russell stormed to pole position and converted it into a well-deserved first victory of the season.
It was a reminder of what the Briton could do with a compliant car, but the celebrations were short-lived.
A return to hotter temperatures in Austria saw him hit a ceiling of fifth. His home race at Silverstone was a disaster; a strategic gamble to pit for slicks at the end of the formation lap and generally being on the wrong tyres at crucial moments resigned him to a 10th-place finish.
The late-season surge
The Hungarian Grand Prix shone a spotlight on Russell’s racecraft. In Budapest, he wrestled his way onto the podium with a bold late-race overtake on Charles Leclerc.
He followed that with a second-place finish in Baku, but the high point of his season came in Singapore, where he found redemption for his dramatic crash while fighting for the win in 2023. Starting from pole, he controlled the race from the front to take his second win of 2025.
The flyaway races, however, were trying for George. In Austin, he managed second in the Sprint but was pinched at Turn 1 in the main race, recovering to sixth. Mexico brought yet more frustration with a seventh-place finish.
He bounced back in Brazil with another strong Sprint result in third and fourth in the main race, expertly managing brake issues that threatened to end his day.
He carried that form to the fanfare of Las Vegas, the scene of his 2024 victory, securing a strong second place behind Max Verstappen.
The penultimate round in Qatar was something of a rollercoaster that saw George take second in the Sprint, but falling to a distant sixth in the Grand Prix. He capped off the season with another top-five in Abu Dhabi in the 24th and final round.
Leading the team forward
Finishing 4th in the standings with 319 points was Russell’s best end to a season yet, helping Mercedes to its best finish in the Constructors’ standings (2nd) since 2023.
With Kimi Antonelli still getting up to speed, George has been the consistent force Mercedes needed during a transitional year, often dragging a heat-sensitive car into positions it perhaps didn't deserve.
The new era of regulations awaits
With his contract secured, Russell heads into the new era of F1 as the undisputed leading driver at Mercedes, and in F1’s biggest regulation shake-up since 2014, the Silver Arrows could turn out to be a good option once again.
The 2025 season proved he can win when the car is in the window, but 2026 will ask a different question: can he lead development to ensure the window is open more often?
If Mercedes can give him a car that works in all temperatures, there’s no doubt Russell is ready to fight for the title.
