George Russell believes that F1 2025 was his best season, and suggested that Lewis Hamilton inadvertently played a key role.
Russell admitted that alongside the seven-time World Champion Hamilton, he wanted to really push the envelope that was his own limits, an approach which “bit me in the ass”. With Hamilton moving on to Ferrari, and Russell becoming Mercedes team leader, Russell “reined it back in”, and he believes his results benefitted.
George Russell went ‘beyond the limit’ alongside Lewis Hamilton
After a three-season stint with Williams, Russell received his promotion to Mercedes in time for the 2022 season. Over the following three campaigns, he outscored Hamilton in two of them, 2022 and 2024.
With Hamilton moving on for pastures new at Ferrari, Russell stepped up into the team leader role for F1 2025, partnering teenage rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell impressed, delivering Grand Prix wins in Canada and Singapore as part of an overall consistently strong season.
Russell was asked by PlanetF1.com, and a select group of other accredited media, whether he considered 2025 as his best F1 season so far.
“Yeah, I think so,” he confirmed.
“Definitely my most solid in terms of performance, emotional system, least mistakes. So yeah, on the whole, it has been.”
Put to him that he seemed to be the driver with the least major F1 2025 errors to his name, Russell was asked if there is any particular reason for that.
He pointed to how Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes saw him return to type, so to speak, after exploring and pushing his limits up against the seven-time World Champion.
“I think that’s always been in my nature, pre-F1, and sort of helped me to secure championships,” said Russell of the limited errors.
“But it was just during my time with Lewis, I just sort of felt that I want to push myself to see if there’s more in the tank, and go beyond the limit and kind of see what happens.
“Because, in ’23, I wasn’t satisfied just fighting for podiums. I wanted pushing the boundaries more, to try and get a highlight result, rather than just settling for a podium or a P4.
“That sort of bit me in the ass a bit. So I just reined it back a little bit this year, and in turn, probably helped me get bigger results.”
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Russell and Antonelli both secured new contracts to keep them at Mercedes for F1 2026, as the new chassis and engine regulations loom.
Antonelli bounced back impressively from an alarming mid-season slump to maintain Mercedes’ faith, and Russell expects to see the Italian take another step next season.
“I think it’s always interesting having a new teammate, just to see how they approach things within the team,” said Russell.
“And he’s obviously a young kid with a lot of energy, and that’s super nice to see. And he has a very positive impact on the people in the team, which is great.
“But obviously in our sport, it always comes down to what you achieve on track.
“But he’s definitely shown signs of real speed. So I’m sure, going into next year, he’s going to sort of continue progressing, and you’ll probably see those moments more often.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
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