It could have all ended in a déjà-vu. After a Friday that ended in the wall at the start of FP2, George Russell could have been overwhelmed by the ghosts of the past. It could have gone like 2024, or worse, like 2023. It could have happened—but it didn’t.
This time, Russell decided to rewrite his story. To bounce back from that mistake and build a weekend that, from that moment on, was impressively solid. He did it in his own style: quietly, without proclamations, without seeking attention. With that typically English composure that defines him and has far too often relegated him to a secondary role.
Yes, because over the years, perhaps too often, Russell has been underestimated. Overlooked. Left on the sidelines, in some cases even by his own team, which for the entire summer kept him hanging by a thread between a possible contract renewal and rumors—never truly denied, and often even fueled—about potential contacts with Verstappen.
George never responded. He used the summer break to prepare for his return to the track. The rumors that were meant to bring him down became fuel for his determination. Determination that George Russell has always had: when it came to joining Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton, as well as now, next to Kimi Antonelli, in the role of experienced leader and team reference.
Determination: his constant. The very thing that today brings him to his fifth career victory. And perhaps, if he had arrived during Mercedes’ golden era, he would have won much more. But he would have always done it this way: discreetly, without proclamations, and even if hidden beneath his English demeanor, with a whole lot of heart.
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