George Russell News, Rumors & Driver Updates

Wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix Russell survived a late challenge from Max Verstappen to secure his third victory of the season in a dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw six drivers retire, including McLaren's...

Impact Russell would dominate the first half of the grand prix. However, a mid-race incident would reset the field and close all the gaps. Max Verstappen would pressure the Mercedes star in the closing laps and Russell would just hold off the Red Bull Racing star by one-tenth at the checkered flag for a chaotic and thrilling victory. It was his third win of the season and eighth-career victory.

1 DAY AGO • ROTOWIRE

Claims Azerbaijan Pole Russell clinched his fifth pole position of the 2026 season in a remarkably competitive Qualifying hour for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the Briton finding himself as the lone M...

Impact It was shaping up to be a multi-team battle for pole based on the day's earlier FP3 at Baku. However, Russell would improve in each session and would turn in a monster lap of 1:42.526 in Q3 to claim his fifth pole position of the season. The Mercedes star was eight-tenths better than Charles Leclerc and a full-second faster than P4, Isack Hadjar. Russell has the pace to dominate Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

2 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Leads Free Practice 2 Russell comfortably set the pace during Thursday's second practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading the way from Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli and Red Bull's...

Impact Russell built on the day's earlier session and turned in a lap of 1:43.347 during his mock qualifying runs late in the session. The Mercedes star would easily beat out Antonelli by a half-second and three-tenths more clear of Verstappen. It's been a great day's work for Russell on the streets of Baku and he looks in great position heading into Friday's qualifying session for the Azerbaijan GP.

3 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Tops FP1 in Baku Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver leading Max Verstappen as Kimi Antonelli's session was cut short by a mechanical...

Impact Russell turned in a lap of 1:45.387 on the street of Baku and beat out Verstappen by four-tenths to lead this opening session. The Mercedes star had great pace and straight line speed. The session was interrupted by two different VSC periods for incidents, but Russell would be undeterred in registering the fastest lap of this challenging street course. He looks like a top contender to win Saturday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

3 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Outdone by Antonelli Russell finished fifth at the Spanish Grand Prix 1 race at the Madring on Sunday.

Impact Russell was once again at a clear pace deficit to Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, qualifying nearly three-tenths of a second off his pace. Russell started sixth on the grid as a result. He gained one position due to the retirement of Lewis Hamilton, and he also regained a position when he made a rare pass at the new circuit on Liam Lawson. Russell now sits 81 points behind Antonelli for the Drivers' Championship.

SEPTEMBER 15 • ROTOWIRE

Fast FP1 at the Madring Russell was fastest in FP1 for the Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Madring Circuit on Friday.

Impact These were the first laps on the new circuit in Madrid and the speeds and action did not disappoint. Russell would lead a one-two Mercedes assault on the time sheets with a lap of 1:34.077 on the brand new circuit. He would edge Kimi Antonelli by almost three-tenths to lead this session. Both Ferraris were next in line at four and five-tenths back respectively. Mercedes once again has the opening pace on a race weekend and Russell looks good to challenge for the win in the Spanish Grand Prix.

SEPTEMBER 11 • ROTOWIRE

Runner-up Finish at Monza Russell finished second in the Italian Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Monza Circuit on Sunday afternoon.

Impact The Mercedes star would start the race P2 and ride behind Pierre Gasly in the early laps. However, a lap 2 crash and red flag would reset the field for a standing start on lap 5. Russell would overtake Gasly and lead the early laps. A recovering Kimi Antonelli would catch up to Russell and the two would stage a brilliant battle. A mid-race VSC would be the pivotal moment of the race. Antonelli would take on new tyres and Russell would stay out. The younger Mercedes driver would overtake Russell with just 3 laps to go and he would have to hang on for a somewhat disappointing runner-up finish at Monza.

SEPTEMBER 6 • ROTOWIRE

Leads Final Practice Russell ended a busy final practice session at the Italian Grand Prix on top of the timesheets, the Mercedes driver going fastest ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull...

Impact It would be an eventful final practice at Monza as a few teams would spin or have mechanical issues, slowing the pace on track. Russell would rise above these distractions and turn in a sound lap of 1:22.219 and edge Hamilton by two-tenths to lead the way. The Mercedes star has paced both FP2 and FP3 and looks like a good bet to win the pole later Saturday in Italy.

SEPTEMBER 5 • ROTOWIRE

Fast FP2 in Italy Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 2 ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc splitting the Mercedes drivers as Kimi Antonelli was third, Formula1.com reports.

Impact The opening half of the practice would see many teams on medium and hard tyres for long-run data collection. However, as the session wore on teams would bolt on softs for mock qualifying runs. Russell would leap to the top of the time sheets with his lap of 1:22.559 of the Monza circuit. He would best Leclerc by a little over one-tenth. Mercedes showed better pace in this session and Russell looks like a podium threat for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

SEPTEMBER 4 • ROTOWIRE

Podium in Holland Russell finished third in the Dutch Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Zandvoort Circuit on Sunday afternoon.

Impact On the heels of his win in Saturday's Sprint, Russell was poised for a big performance in Sunday's grand prix. The Mercedes veteran would drop to P3 after the lights out as Kimi Antonelli would sail by in the opening lap. Russell would shore up third-place and spend the remainder of the day jousting with both Ferraris in a running duel. A late-race VSC would shuffle strategies and Russell would let Antonelli by for P2. That would hand the veteran driver a strong third-place and podium in the Dutch Grand Prix.

AUGUST 23 • ROTOWIRE

Wins Dutch GP Sprint Russell has claimed a commanding victory in the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix, the Briton converting his pole position into a win ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, Formul...

Impact The Mercedes star had a strong launch and cleared Lando Norris to turn 1. Russell was not able to run away and hide so the balance of performance seemed pretty equal among the top teams. The fight for P2 would evolve during this 24-lap Sprint and that would give Russell some relief. He would lead wire-to-wire and take a 1.3-second margin of victory over Charles Leclerc. Russell has to be very optimistic about his chances for pole qualifying later Saturday at Zandvoort.

AUGUST 22 • ROTOWIRE

Claims Sprint Pole Russell returned from the summer break in style as he secured pole position for the Zandvoort Sprint, leading McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a close-fought...

Impact It was a very equal battle between Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari for the top staring spot in Saturday's Sprint in Zandvoort. Russell would advance to SQ3 and turn an incredible lap of 1:11.567 to clinch the top starting spot for Saturday's Sprint. He would edge both Norris and Leclerc by mere hundredths to claim pole position. Russell will roll off P1 Saturday in Holland and be the driver to beat in this short Sprint race.

AUGUST 21 • ROTOWIRE

Slow start dooms Hungarian GP Russell finished seventh in the Hungarian Grand Prix F1 race at Hungaroring on Sunday.

Impact Russell's slump continued, as he qualified seventh and nearly three-tenths of a second off the pace of teammate Kimi Antonelli. Things only got worse from there, as he stalled to start the race and slipped all the way to 21st. Mercedes took the blame for the mistake, and Russell managed to recover to nearly his starting position. While that was a silver lining, he fell further behind Antonelli and is now 59 points off the pace of the championship lead.

JULY 29 • ROTOWIRE

Crashes on first lap Russell retired on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.

Impact Russell was outperformed by Kimi Antonelli during qualifying, but he still could have salvaged a solid weekend after starting third on the grid. That opportunity quickly disappeared after a collision with Lewis Hamilton on the first lap that sent him into a gravel trap that he was unable to escape. To make matters worse, Antonelli went on to win the race, and Russell now sits third in the driver standings, 50 points behind Antonelli.

JULY 22 • ROTOWIRE

NASCAR heads to the Brickyard and F1's Antonelli and IndyCar's Palou continue hot streaks

NASCAR returns to Indianapolis after Joey Logano broke through for his first Cup win of the year

JULY 21 • Associated Press

Blaney survives overtime as Cup Series returns to North Wilkesboro

Ryan Blaney wins the third round of the Cup Series in-season challenge

JULY 14 • Associated Press

Briscoe's breakthrough victory sends Reddick to second as NASCAR shifts to EchoPark

NASCAR returns to prime time at EchoPark Speedway after Chase Briscoe broke through for his first Cup win of the season

JULY 7 • Associated Press

Runner-up Finish at Silverstone Russell finished second in the British Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Silverstone Circuit on Sunday afternoon.

Impact Russell would start P4 on the grid and slip back to as far as P7 due to pace issues with his Mercedes. The veteran driver would battle with Lewis Hamilton for much of the race and put on a good show. However, a lap 33 tyre puncture would force him to pit road for an unscheduled stop on lap 35. Russell would rally back due to a late-race safety car and it would help move him into P2 and a strong podium finish at Silverstone.

JULY 5 • ROTOWIRE

Wins Austrian Grand Prix Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix Formula 1 race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Sunday afternoon.

Impact Russell would get off well at the lights out and cover an aggressive move by Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes star would retain the lead after the opening lap and only yield it briefly during first and second round pit stops. Russell would control the pace well and make no mistakes on this day. Max Verstappen would chase him down in the closing laps but Russell would hang on for a 1.6-second victory over the Red Bull Racing star. It was his second win of the season and first-career victory at the Red Bull Ring.

JUNE 28 • ROTOWIRE

Claims Austria Pole Mercedes driver Russell claimed pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix with a last-gasp Qualifying effort that usurped Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, moments a...

Impact In the final moments of Q3, things would get wild in this qualifying session. Verstappen would crash in turn 9 of his flying final lap while both Mercedes were still making their final lap. Russell would lift on his flyer and was able to navigate the caution flag and still beat out Charles Leclerc for pole position at the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes star will roll off P1 Sunday in the Austrian Grand Prix.

JUNE 27 • ROTOWIRE

Runner-up Finish in Barcelona Russell finished second in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday.

Impact Russell would dominate the opening half of the race. Mercedes were aimed at a two-stop strategy but would have to quickly react to Lewis Hamilton and his early stop for a three-stop strategy. Russell would struggle with tyre degradation and Hamilton's differing strategy. The Mercedes veteran would lose P2 down the stretch to Kimi Antonelli but would quickly regain it when the young driver's car lost power shortly after the overtake. Russell would hang on for P2 and the 18 valuable points that went with it in Barcelona.

JUNE 15 • ROTOWIRE

Earns pole at Barcelona Russell took pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday.

Impact Russell entered the weekend having ceded all momentum of the season to Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. Russell managed to at least briefly halt his slide by taking pole position with a 1:14.679 Q3 lap time to beat out Lewis Hamilton by six one-hundredths of a second. Russell will start on pole for the third time this season, having finished first and 19th -- due to a retirement -- on the first two occasions.

JUNE 13 • ROTOWIRE

George Russell on pole in Barcelona - Speedway Digest - Home for NASCAR News George Russell secured pole position for the Barcelona Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was marginally faster than Lewis Hamilton. Russell se...

JUNE 13 • SPEEDWAYDIGEST.COM

Deficit widens Russell finished 12th in the Monaco Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit de Monaco on Sunday.

Impact Russell suffered from some bad luck, but he still was outperformed by Kimi Antonelli throughout the weekend. Russell qualified four-tenths of a second off the pace of Antonelli, but he looked to be in line for a podium finish after Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were forced to retire. Russell then ran into bad luck: he was speeding in pit lane and failed to serve the penalty correctly after his team began working on his car before the five-second waiting period had expired. Following a drive-through penalty, Russell was pushed out of the points and is now 68 points behind Antonelli for first in the Driver Standings.

JUNE 10 • ROTOWIRE

Hamlin trims Reddick's lead in Cup Series standings with thrilling recovery at Nashville

Denny Hamlin recovered from an early penalty to lead 57 laps and win in a dramatic three-wide finish at Nashville

JUNE 2 • Associated Press

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NASCAR heads to the Brickyard and F1's Antonelli and IndyCar's Palou continue hot streaks

Blaney survives overtime as Cup Series returns to North Wilkesboro

Briscoe's breakthrough victory sends Reddick to second as NASCAR shifts to EchoPark

Hamlin trims Reddick's lead in Cup Series standings with thrilling recovery at Nashville