George Russell has delivered a blunt verdict on the fight for P2 in the championship, as the pre-season title favourite risks falling to as low as fifth in the standings this weekend in Mexico.
A miserable season for the Brit was compounded further with an eighth place finish at the United States Grand Prix. Russell was not helped by a five-second penalty during the race, while teammate Kimi Antonelli moved two points away from winning the championship after clinching victory.
Russell is second in the standings on 242 points, but trails teammate Kimi Antonelli by 123 points with five races remaining. Meanwhile, there is now just nine points separating Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Speaking to the media, including GPblog, after the race, Russell said that all he was interested in now was for Mercedes to win the constructors' championship. He explained: "For me, as long as we win the constructors', that's the main thing. For the team, obviously I'd like to finish best of the rest, but P2, P3, P5 is not champion, so it doesn't mean anything."
For Russell to slip to fifth in the standings in Mexico, Hamilton would need to outscore his former teammate by two points, Verstappen by seven points, and Leclerc by 10 points. Lando Norris is also not too far behind in the standings, with just 31 points separating the 2025 champion and Russell.
Stewards reveal why Russell escaped harsher US GP punishment
George Russell received a reduced five-second penalty during the race in Austin, after theFIA discovered two mitigating circumstances in his incident with Oscar Piastri.
The Brit ran off circuit at Turn 12 on the opening lap while challenging Isack Hadjar. He rejoined the track ahead of Oscar Piastri who was also pushing for a move on the Brit, with the Australian forced slightly wide going into Turn 13 by the Mercedes.
The FIA stewards explained after the race that Russell's actions would normally warrant a ten-second penalty, having concluded that he gained a lasting advantage. However, the circumstances leading up to the incident played a significant role in their decision. Russell was challenging Isack Hadjar ahead of him, allowing Piastri to close in and put the Mercedes driver under pressure. The stewards considered this sequence of events when assessing the infringement, alongside the fact that it took place on the opening lap.