F1 Focus from Silverstone: After huge let-off on home turf, Russell needs a rethink

[p]At face value, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]George Russell[/a] had a strong British Grand Prix, finishing second to get his first podium on home turf and close the gap to teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Kimi Antonelli[/a] in the title fight. However, that's far from the full story...[/p][p]At the start of 2026, you would've thought he'd be the star of the show at his home race when it came around, given that he had the strongest car on the grid and was very much the title favourite. He would surely be fighting for a win that would move him a step closer to being a world champion with the Silverstone faithful cheering him on.[/p][p]Much like his season on the whole though, the reality fell well short of the expectation, with him too slow to join the battle for pole position or the win, and only finishing on the podium thanks to a huge slice of luck.[/p][p]He may leave his home country feeling satisfied with how things ultimately panned out, but that would be a mistake on his part, because if he doesn't have a rethink, he's in serious danger of becoming a mere support act to F1's biggest stars.[/p][h2]Inferior to Antonelli again[/h2][p]He headed to Silverstone having been very much second best to Mercedes teammate Antonelli for the majority of 2026, and that trend continued on home turf.[/p][p]While the 19-year-old fought off the Ferraris to top the sprint race and qualifying, Russell was much closer to them than he was to the other Mercedes, being beaten by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] in the sprint before being out-qualified by both the veteran and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Charles Leclerc[/a].[/p][embed guid="a5372aee-e816-42be-8606-001d5b030c16" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2073440676222578910" social-type="twitter" /][p]It was largely the same story in the race, with Antonelli battling Leclerc for the win until a mechanical issue dropped him down the field while Russell duked it out with Hamilton and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a], the former of whom was only near him because he'd been handed a five-second penalty and the latter of whom was in a much slower car.[/p][p]That battle and seemingly Russell's hopes of a podium ended when a slow puncture forced him to make an extra pit-stop, but he could hardly have felt aggrieved with a fifth-place finish; based on his pace over the course of the weekend, it would have been a largely fair outcome.[/p][p]He ultimately got a much better one thanks to a remarkably fortunate chain of events late on, with Antonelli encountering a mechanical issue, Verstappen crashing out, Ferrari pitting Hamilton under the Safety Car that followed, and that Safety Car staying out to ensure the seven-time world champion didn't have a chance to attack his compatriot on fresh tyres at the end.[/p][p]Only those incidents catapulted Russell from fifth to second, but as has often been the case this season, he didn't exactly acknowledge after the race that he hadn't driven particularly well.[/p][h2]Attitude issues[/h2][p]When he crossed the line, he didn't celebrate the strong result with his team over the radio, but instead told them that they really had to make the car faster on the straights. Clearly frustrated by such a comment, team boss Toto Wolff responded that the straight-line speed in the race had been fine.[/p][p]The Austrian doubled down when speaking to the press afterwards, saying: [b]"He had speed issues on the straights throughout the whole weekend, but not in the race. And I believe that, for the driver's mindset, it's important to really focus and try to improve what he himself can improve."[/b][/p][p]Wolff's annoyance isn't surprising when you consider that Russell has been blaming everyone but himself for issues throughout the season. In his eyes, the primary issues have been that luck often hasn't been on his side, and his car often hasn't been good enough.[/p][p]It's true that he's had a huge amount of misfortune, but it's also true that he simply hasn't been fast enough to challenge Antonelli more often than not, and the less he acknowledges that problem, the less chance he has of solving it.[/p][p]It was very much evident at Silverstone that such an attitude - one that many perceive as arrogance - is causing him problems away from the track too.[/p][embed guid="b10e9f76-a094-409b-971f-6bc18186cc0c" url="https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2073757393125581277" social-type="twitter" /][p]There was an interesting exchange between Russell and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Norris[/a] via their conversation with the press at Silverstone, one that was light-hearted but spoke to a deeper truth.[/p][p]Early in the weekend, Russell stated that he wanted his own stand at Silverstone, like Norris's Landostand, and joked that he'd like to steal the spot on the track that stand currently occupies. In response, Norris said: [b]"I just have, I think, more passionate fans and a better fanbase. Mine was more wanted from a public point of view, which is a great thing."[/b][/p][p]The reigning champion may have said it half-jokingly, but it's undeniable that he's a far more popular driver than his compatriot, as anybody who was here at the circuit this weekend would tell you.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/motorsport-formula-1-with-record-crowds-title-contenders-top-talents-british-f1-is-in-a-golden-era/lfUuGDTk/"]As I wrote on Friday[/a], you could see Norris fans wherever you looked at Silverstone, with thousands clad either in the orange of McLaren or the fluorescent yellow of his own clothing brand. The same couldn't be said for support for Russell.[/p][p]During on-track action, you could hear a huge roar from the crowd when Norris or Hamilton put in a strong lap in qualifying or made a pass during the race. The same couldn't be said for Russell; when he and Hamilton were battling, the sounds from the stands made it abundantly clear who the people were rooting for.[/p][p]To be fair to Russell, Hamilton is a national hero, and Norris and his team put a huge amount of time and effort into fan engagement. However, the main reason that Norris is so loved is that he's incredibly open and honest, even about his flaws, and that outlook has also improved him as a driver.[/p][h2]Time to look inward?[/h2][p]Russell has always come across as somewhat annoyed that Norris was given a car good enough to fight for wins and titles before he was, suggesting a number of times over the two seasons before this one that he would've done a better job than the McLaren man if given such a good car.[/p][p]It's now clear that's not the case, with him failing to make the most of having excellent machinery, so maybe now is a good time for him to take a leaf out of Norris' book and look inward.[/p][p]He did some of that in the post-race press conference, admitting that he hadn't driven well enough to finish P2 and deserved to trail Antonelli in the standings, but such admissions were always accompanied by caveats.[/p][p][b]"Things within my control aren't good enough. Things outside my control haven't been good enough," [/b]he said.[/p][p]"The feeling was good, but the lap times were slow," he later added. [b]"And as I said, there were things outside my control that contributed a lot towards that, and things in my control."[/b][/p][p]I'd argue that the issues very much in his control are mainly to blame for the situation he's in, and he needs to start acknowledging that more if he wants to enjoy the success Norris has, both in terms of popularity and titles.[/p][p]There's no reason why he can't - I've always thought he's the more talented driver of the two. But at the highest level of sport, talent can only get you so far if it's not accompanied by the right mentality.[/p][infobox id="68274eb9-a292-466f-8d1c-279fe1b5c54c" /]