Why George Russell’s new Mercedes contract is the platform for a title tilt

There has been a small yet significant change in George Russell this season.

In many ways he remains the same George Russell he always was – hugely self-confident, relentlessly aggressive, always with two feet and 10 toes on the absolute limit – but now he operates with an extra layer of maturity.

Is George Russell the favourite for the F1 2026 title after new Mercedes contract?

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix. It has been updated and republished after Mercedes confirmed George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli will remain with the team for F1 2026.

Where once he would force it, overreach and grasp frantically at the rare opportunities that came along for Mercedes, these days he lets everything come to him instead.

If there was a race that Russell was ever going to fall back into his old habits, it was probably the last one in Singapore.

George Russell vs Andrea Kimi Antonelli: Mercedes head-to-head scores for F1 2025

? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

More than once ahead of his latest win he pointed out how this circuit had bitten him in the past – most memorably when his risk/reward dial blew itself up late in the race in 2023, George pacing his final stint so badly in pursuit of victory that he ran out of rubber long before his undignified exit on the final lap.

He was struggling in the early phase of this year’s event too, crashing out of FP2 on Friday and, by his own admission, was still lacking rhythm even as qualifying began.

Yet it was alright on the night. Always is with Russell in 2025.

He can be relied upon and trusted now – the natural result, perhaps, of stepping fully out of the shadow of Lewis Hamilton this season – in a way that wasn’t always the case in previous years when it seemed he was constantly striving to prove himself.

That’s the difference. The complete elimination of doubt, some might call it.

Once again, he refused to be lured into the trap of making mistakes in the search for performance and his lap for pole position – almost but not quite out of nowhere – was among the most impressive of the entire season.

That, right there, was the moment this race was won, helped by Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s inexplicable choice of the soft tyre for the race start.

Russell has blossomed – and continues to blossom, for the process is not yet complete – beautifully into one of the most consistent and versatile drivers on the current grid.

Just in time for a title tilt in 2026, maybe? The stars are aligning.

If it is true, as many believe, that Mercedes’ preparations for the new rules are more advanced than most, opportunity knocks for Russell next season.

As commonplace with major engine regulation changes, the Mercedes factory team should have an inherent advantage over its customers – notably McLaren – when it comes to the integration and packaging of the new power unit.

And unlike McLaren, which must serve (and be seen to serve) Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris equally at all times, Mercedes has a clear team leader in Russell.

Toto Wolff may not have had a wingman role in mind when he signed Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton’s successor a year ago yet Russell’s teammate, for all his current difficulties, will have an important part to play next season.

By being Andrea Kimi Antonelli – raw, inexperienced, inconsistent – he will afford George Russell the necessary breathing space to keep being George Russell.

Just as Sergio Perez allowed Max Verstappen to be Max Verstappen, for instance.

Or how Valtteri Bottas allowed Lewis Hamilton to be Lewis Hamilton for all those years.

Every time he has been presented with a race-winning car on merit during his Mercedes career, stretching all the way back to that first taster at Sakhir 2020, Russell has delivered.

And now he has finally been rewarded with a new contract, he should instantly be installed as title favourite f0r 2026.

That new deal, you suspect, will prove to be worth the wait.

Reader reaction: Is George Russell the F1 2026 title favourite?

Broeknaaier: “Russell didn’t step out of Hamilton’s shadow this year – as he was never in his shadow. He whipped him straight out of the bag in 2022 when he stepped into Hamilton’s team…”

Roam: “100% he walked into Hamilton’s team and beat him straight away. He beat Norris in F2 yet got stuck in a terrible Williams for years and is easily the best of the British drivers.”

Rob Wilcox: “Nobody should be regarded as the favorite for 2026.”

vander: “I don’t get the Russell/Antonelli part. He was faster than a 40 year old, and is now faster than a super green rookie – who, note, has been quite close to Russell since the break. Who is to say that he won’t be even closer next year?

“Not saying that Kimi will beat him next year, but it’s not unfathomable to believe he’d be close enough to complicate George’s life. And we all know which of the two the team prefers.”

Ponty: “It is interesting how Crofty, Kravitz and the rest of the Sky group suck up to Hamilton and Lando, they can’t help them selves with their biased views, leaving George out of the mix, obviously having trouble with the blows George dealt Hamilton for two years at Mercedes.

“Now, Oliver, the King of Hamilton articles, favours Lando knowing Hamilton has not got up off the floor since Max king hit him Abu Dhabi 2021, enough said.”

Neil: “I’ve been noticing this for years too. Russell was supported by the British media when he was the underdog at Williams, performing miracles every Saturday. But as soon as he hit the big time, I noticed a shift in the way he was treated and spoken about.

“I hope Russell thrashes Norris next year, especially if Norris wins it this year. Hamilton will, of course, still be nowhere in 2026, so we don’t have to worry about him.

“I really wish Piastri would sort himself out and finish the job off this year, just to annoy the British media”

AJ77X: “2026 is an unknown, there are no favourites for wdc”

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