Russell sees path back to title contention after Baku domination

George Russell believes the first grand chelem of his career could lead him back into title contention despite having written off his chances just two weeks ago in Madrid.

Russell started the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend 81 points adrift of title-leading teammate Kimi Antonelli, having lost points to the young Italian at the previous five grands prix, a run of results indicative of a midyear form slump.

After finishing sixth at the previous race in Madrid, where Antonelli scored a fortuitous victory, the Briton declared, “Realistically I’m not in the fight for the drivers [title].”

But the Briton broke his sequence of losses with a sublime victory in Baku, where he dominated the weekend from start to finish to score his first grand chelem — race victory from pole position after leading every lap and setting the fastest lap.

Antonelli, who started 16th after a qualifying crash and recovered to fifth, had his lead reduced to 66 points with eight rounds remaining.

Speaking before the podium ceremony, Russell said that Antonelli had been “pretty flawless throughout [the season], but now we’re getting to crunch time”, and he continued to leave the door open to a title revival in the post-race press conference.

“There’s much less pressure on me than there is him,” he said. “I didn’t really consider myself in this fight for a number of races, purely because my performance wasn’t strong enough.

“Now I feel like if the season were to have started today or since the summer break, I feel very much I would have been able to fight.

“I’ve got this big deficit. It can change quick. So I’m not chasing that; I’m chasing to win every race, and what will be, will be.”

But regardless of the championship picture, Russell said his third victory of the season — just the fourth time this year he’s finished ahead of Antonelli in a grand prix both have finished — was a positive sign that he was back at his best.

“I’m very proud of the resilience that I and my close group of engineers have shown during the tough periods this year,” he said. “There’s been a lot of hard work to overcome some of the challenges, to adapt my driving style to suit this new car better.

“F1 is so tough. You don’t get opportunities to practice this, and finally it’s coming to me a bit more intuitively than it once did, and I’m gaining confidence.

“Especially on circuits like this, it just allows you to eke out that little bit more on the brakes, get that little bit closer to the walls, and it’s been a flawless weekend.

“I never lost that faith in myself, even through a tough moment. I knew there was a reason why I was off the pace. It wasn’t like I just suddenly forgot how to drive, and I knew I would be able to find it again. I just had to be patient.

“I feel confident. It’s been four races since the break. I’ve been on the front row in three of them, three podiums from the four races. I feel I can fight for victory week in, week out now.”