“I’m definitely more hungry”: George Russell opens up on his F1 title ambitions with Mercedes

George Russell is currently experiencing one of his best seasons in his Formula 1 career. The four-time Grand Prix winner has so far clinched a race victory in what has been a campaign overshadowed by the dominance of the papaya-coloured McLaren.

The British driver who is in his seventh season in Formula 1 appears to be edging closer to championship contention — albeit he still lacks the right machinery for this. Russell, who signed for the Mercedes team in 2017, had hoped to be right in the title contention from his early days at the team. However, his promotion to the team coincided with the ground effect regulation changes of 2022 — a change that has largely had the German outfit struggling.

However, with his 2025 season unfolding in a rather brilliant fashion, George Russell, in a recent interview with Autosport, was quizzed about whether his quest for a maiden title in F1 had an impact on his manner of driving so far.

"Yeah, for sure,” he replied. I'm definitely more hungry than ever just to try and perform.

"I would have hoped by now, seven seasons in, I would have at least had a year of fighting for a championship. When I joined Mercedes, we thought every year would be a championship fight. Unfortunately, it hasn't turned out that way."

Comparing his situation at Mercedes to both Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, George Russell continued:

"It's been the same for Charles [Leclerc] as well. Arguably, nobody would have predicted two years ago McLaren would have made this step. Lando did five years with them and had no [title] fights either. So, you've just got to accept the fact that that is the nature of F1. That's always been the case.”

Of the 21 drivers that have participated in Grand Prix races through the 2025 campaign so far, George Russell boasts the third-most podium finishes, only behind the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The former Williams Racing driver is also fourth in the Drivers’ championship.

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George Russell speaks on Mercedes' struggles so far

George Russell also took time to touch on the struggles the Mercedes team have encountered through the 2025 campaign so far. The Brackley-based outfit has found little consistency through the first 14 outings of the season.

Russell, who amid this difficulty has clinched six podium finishes, detailed how the team had largely grappled with performances in hot weather conditions. He also highlighted how a suspension issue has impacted results for the team so far. He said (via the aforementioned source):

"Clearly there was a bit of a mishap in that [suspension], and something not working as we anticipated. We clearly have struggled in hot races. At the start of the year, we were in spring, and now we're in summer, that's another factor. I think everything was just sort of going our way at the start of the year, to be honest.”

Since the switch to the ground effect regulations in 2022, the Mercedes team have become synonymous with excelling in wet and overall cooler conditions. However, at the last two weather-affected races at the British and Belgian Grand Prix, the team struggled to put up any significant challenge on the front-runners - something which has subtly caused concern within the Brackley outfit.