George Russell urged to change approach to fight for 2026 F1 title

Juan Pablo Montoya has urged George Russell to stop focusing on his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and instead concentrate on adapting his own driving style if he hopes to challenge for the championship.

Russell finished second at the British Grand Prix, benefiting from a late-race gamble by Mercedes to maintain track position on used medium tyres during a safety car period, which continued until the end of the race.

Despite taking a chunk out of his team-mate's championship lead, Russell admitted after the race that he did not deserve the race result and following the weekend, needs to make some changes to fight for the 2026 title.

"If I'm being brutally honest, I'm not going to fight for a championship if the performances continue like that," Russell told F1 TV. "So, I'm not coming away from this weekend satisfied. I'll take the result.

"I was probably more satisfied leaving Canada when I broke down from the lead than I am today, standing P2. I probably deserved the win in Canada, and today I didn't deserve to stand where I stood."

Speaking on F1 TV's post-race broadcast, Montoya suggested that Russell needs to focus on his driving style rather than too much on his team-mate.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

"He needs to adapt. He is focused so much on Antonelli and, this is me assuming, he really wants to beat Kimi. I think he needs to look more at himself and understand why he cannot do it. What is the car not allowing him to do? He needs to figure out how to adjust the car to be able to do it."

Russell's second-place finish at Silverstone and Antonelli's 15th-place finish mean that the Briton is now 25 points behind the 19-year-old championship leader in the standings.

The two Mercedes drivers are followed by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in third and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who won the British Grand Prix, in fourth.