George Russell believes his inconsistent season has derived from “rolling the dice a bit more” in pursuit of headline results.
Russell was promoted to Mercedes last year and achieved the German marque’s sole pole position and race win of the season en route to outscoring team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Aside from achieving his breakthrough win, Russell displayed a remarkable consistency during his debut campaign with Mercedes, recording 19 top-five finishes in 22 races.
However, Russell has only scored one podium this year and sits four places and a sizeable 75 points behind Hamilton in the championship with six rounds remaining.
The Briton has been caught up in numerous incidents this year, most notably in Singapore earlier this month when he crashed out from third place on the final lap. Mercedes had opted to pit both its drivers a second time to chase down the victory.
Russell, who estimates he has lost “around 60 points” this year, contends that races like Singapore have shown the collective willingness on his side of the garage to take more risks in search of better results.
“There’s definitely a reason for all of them, and that’s just pushing to the limit,” he explained. “Then potentially on both occasions, potentially pushing over the limit and trying to extract more than possible.
“I think when I look at my championship winning years in junior formulas or go-karting, F4, GP3 and F2, I was very much the driver that would just keep on getting results. If you have to compromise one position, it’s a long game, just keep on getting those results and that was very much my mentality last year as well. Just keep on getting those results and it paid off well.
“Whereas I think this year we are definitely rolling the dice a bit more and really going for those big results. You saw it here [Singapore], Zandvoort [staying out on slick tyres on a damp track] we obviously got it wrong but it’s another reason I’m definitely pushing myself above and beyond.
“I think you run up against the best drivers in the world and you’re testing yourself. We’re not satisfied coming home in P2 or P3, you’re always chasing more at the same time.
“When I was at Williams, when I crashed I knew I had to give it everything if I had half a chance of keeping that. Equally, I would have been kicking myself at Williams if I didn’t give it everything and I lost the position.
“And equally, in Singapore, if I knew it was the last lap and I took it easy, and Lewis overtook me, I’d be equally kicking myself. So I think that’s just part and parcel of racing and I do like the fact that on these circuits, you are bitten if you put a foot wrong.”
Russell expects that getting on the right side of risk versus reward is something he will develop with experience, insisting that he hasn’t dwelled on his Singapore heartbreak.
“I think it just comes with experience and, and just getting years and races under your belt,” he determined. “You cannot change the past, it’s as simple as that and we’re on to the next one and that’s behind us.
“I think in life you can let these setbacks dwell on you, you can overthink and let it consume you. But ultimately, that brings nothing. So you’ve got to have that moment where it knocks you down, you get up one morning, put your clothes and shoes on and go again.
“Even if I finished the race in P3, I probably would have been bitterly disappointed that we missed out on the victory because, you know, we gave everything for that. So, yeah. It’s part and parcel of being at the top of your game.”
