George Russell was ‘bamboozled’ by his lack of pace in Monaco qualifying (Image: Sky Sports)
George Russell blamed the 2026 Formula 1 cars which he says don’t suit his driving style as he reacted to a damaging qualifying result at the Monaco Grand Prix. He will start Sunday’s race just sixth while team-mate and title rival Kimi Antonelli took pole position.
And that may well lead to another significant blow to the Brit’s championship hopes, given the Monte Carlo street circuit allows for little overtaking in these large and heavy modern F1 cars. Save for a Mercedes strategy blunder, a crash or a mechanical fault, Antonelli looks set to extend his championship lead, which already stands at 43 points, further still.
Speaking afterwards, Russell shook his head as he admitted he is mystified about his lack of pace. He pointed to the fact he was immediately on it at the first race of the year in Melbourne but does not know where his speed has gone in the weeks since. “If I knew [where the pace is], I’d be able to not be in that position,” he said after qualifying on Saturday.
“At the start of the year it was easy, every lap in practice and qualifying was P1 or, worst case, P2. Every single session, Q1, Q2 and Q3. The last three races, it’s been nowhere. And even in Canada [where Russell qualified on pole], it was a real fight to get a decent lap and then I just nailed it at the end of both of those sessions.
“But that was by pulling something special out of the hat and a little bit lucky to do it at the right time. But this is where I am right now, I don’t really know [why].”
Asked if he could offer any insight into his difficulties, Russell added: “There’s definitely some things we’ve seen that the changes with this year’s car, my natural driving style doesn’t suit it as much as last year’s car did.
“Kimi and I do have different driving styles, it was clear last year and it’s clear this year. But, obviously, last year it suited me just fine and this year it suits him perfectly well. So I need to adjust to this, and I’m doing my best to do that, but it still doesn’t answer why the start of the year was such a breeze. I don’t know. I’m a bit bamboozled right now.”
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Antonelli, meanwhile, was beaming after producing a “magic lap” which pipped Max Verstappen to pole and looks set to push him a little closer to championship glory come the end of the year. The 19-year-old said: “I was able to put it all together. It was such a close qualifying with Max. The first run of Q3, there was just one millisecond between us.
“I knew that the last lap was good and I was just hoping that it would be enough. And I’m very happy with it. Massive thanks to the team, because yesterday we struggled a little bit and, today, we were able to improve massively.
“This is the most intense qualifying of the year and it takes a massive year. You just keep trying to get close to the limit and, when it’s about the last two tenths, it’s not easy because the wall starts to come closer and it’s not easy to gain the confidence. But I felt great this morning and I’m glad we could finish the job today.”