Brundle warns Russell he must find an overdrive mode in 2027

Martin Brundle says George Russell must significantly raise his level in the 2027 season. Speaking to Sky Sports News, the former driver and commentator said the speed gap to Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli would seriously affect him, and he called the season "awful".

Russell went into the season as the strongest candidate for the championship. Mercedes adapted to the new 2026 rules faster than its rivals and had the best car in the first half of the year. Even so, Russell failed to turn that advantage into points, and as the season went on he fell behind Antonelli. Antonelli clinched the title at the Mexican Grand Prix with four races to spare. Russell is fourth in the standings, 130 points behind his 20-year-old teammate.

Brundle: Russell waited too long

Brundle recalled that Russell came through Mercedes' junior programme and spent a long time waiting at Williams. In his view, Mercedes had stopped winning by the time Russell finally got his chance. He said Mercedes had a dominant start to the season with the new 2026 cars, but is not as far ahead now.

Brundle also said Antonelli had moved from a weak showing in his first year to a level he described as "the talent of a generation" in his second.

In Brundle's view, what troubles Russell most is his inability to keep pace with Antonelli over a race distance. He pointed to the performance gap in the second half of the tyre stint. Brundle also noted that Antonelli had suffered reliability problems and retired, and that Russell had endured an unlucky season. "George either finds an overdrive or it's over," he said.

Fine for skipping media duties

Mercedes paid a 5,000 euro fine after Russell skipped post-race media duties. Brundle backed the decision. He said Russell had congratulated Antonelli under the podium, but that facing questions such as "Is this the end of the road?" would be too much. He added that if he were in that position, he would be happy to pay the fine.