Russell inspired by Verstappen amid championship momentum swing

Russell finished fourth at the Miami Grand Prix, helped by Charles Leclerc’s spin and an eventful final lap, while Antonelli claimed his third consecutive victory. The gap in the standings is now 20 points after four rounds.

Speaking after the race to GPblog, among others, the Briton addressed the swing in the championship. "Clearly, he's in a really great place at the moment and momentum is with him, but I've got enough experience myself from championships I've won on how momentum swings throughout a year."

Based on Max Verstappen's comeback during the 2025 campaign, Russell does not want to draw conclusions for now either. He continued: "Also, you know, looking at the championship last year, to be honest, I'm not even considering it, I just want to get back onto the top step of the podium. The first three races, I had the performance to do that. This weekend, I absolutely did not have the performance to do that.

"I could be standing here now with three very different results from the previous races and then this just being a bit of a one-off, but obviously things worked out differently in Japan and China," the Mercedes drivers concluded. Russell will have the chance to bounce back in three weeks' time at the Canadian Grand Prix.