– Former Formula 1 race engineer Rob Smedley believes George Russell would overthink his 2026 title fight too much. He urges the Mercedes driver, given the growing points gap to his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, to find his natural rhythm again, the so-called “flow state.”
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In an episode of the High Performance Racing Podcast, Smedley analyzes together with former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer and host Jake Humphrey the growing gap between the two Mercedes drivers as well as the internal team dynamics at the Brackley-based racing team.
Light and shadow at Mercedes: Antonelli wins, Russell crashes | F1 Spa-Francorchamps Race
“You have to be in a flow state, right? That’s exactly where Kimi is at the moment. Kimi is in the flow and just does it very, very naturally. When he gets in the car, he delivers and doesn’t overthink it. That’s why he doesn’t overdrive the car, and it just works for him,” explains Smedley.
He adds: “You must not overthink it too much. And when I watch George from the outside and also listen to what is being said, I honestly think he is overthinking it too much.”
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“There is no doubt – and this is a message to George: There is absolutely no doubt in the world that you can drive a Grand Prix car. Whether Kimi is a tenth faster or a tenth slower doesn’t matter, right? He needs to sort out his thoughts, because that’s where the lap times, the points, and this championship lie now, not in his driving skills.”
After his wins at the season opener in Australia and the sprint race in China, Russell was one of the absolute favorites for the 2026 title. But a series of impressive performances by his teenage teammate as well as some bad luck for the Brit allowed Antonelli to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship.
After the first half of the season, Antonelli leads the overall standings with 219 points. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is in second place with 169 points, while Russell is third with 160 points.
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