George Russell believes the solution to the Formula 1 driving style struggles he revealed in Monaco last weekend lies in driving on his instincts.
The 28-year-old Mercedes driver attempted to row back on the self-critique expressed after struggling in Monaco qualifying on the basis that his comments last Saturday were "a little bit too harsh", but he recognises the need to get back in tune with how to make the most of the Mercedes W17 given the performance level of team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
There are reasons why his driving style, analysed in detail here, might not be working well with the Mercedes. The characteristics of narrower 2026-specification Pirelli tyres are playing a part in this, but Russell's approach is not to get too caught up in attempting to transform what he's doing behind the wheel.
"The tyres are quite vastly different this year due to the tyre pressures that we are being prescribed by Pirelli," said Russell when asked about the need for driving style adaptation and the role played by the car and tyres in that.
"These are the highest tyre pressures we've ever run, probably ever in Formula 1, but they were still there in Melbourne, China and Canada when I was performing very well, so I've probably been a little bit too harsh in speaking in the moment, to be honest."I didn't have a lot of confidence in Monaco with the tyres and the car, and that is a circuit where it punishes you. Having reflected on it, I'm going into this weekend with a clear head, I'm not going to get too caught up with the data and drive on my instincts."To be honest, last year I rarely looked at any data, I just got in and drove, and I drove fast, and it worked, so I just need to sometimes trust in those instincts, as I did when I was karting."
The grip level of the track surface, which varies from circuit to circuit, also plays a part in this and it's true that Russell's performance level at certain venues has been strong.However, he also made it clear that his desire to trust his instincts isn't because he's concluded his style doesn't need to change, but comes from recognising that any required evolution of his style will come as a result of focusing on what he feels behind the wheel.
That's partly a result of a lesson learned during a two-day session in the Mercedes simulator two years ago that underlined the value of subconscious processing in solving such problems.
"There always needs to be improvements because when you're driving with a new car and new tyres, you need to evolve," said Russell.
"But what I have observed - and this is different for everybody - when I look back over the years is that my driving style naturally evolved to the limitation of the car and the tyres.
"I didn't chase a solution, I didn't deep-dive into the data spending so much time trying to work out what the problem was and then on-track, thinking how I'm going to solve the problem, it just naturally evolved."I had an example on the sim a couple of years ago. I did two days in a row, I did a whole day in Barcelona, and I came in the next day and on my second lap I went two tenths faster. I thought to myself, 'how on earth did I just go two tenths faster on my second lap today compared to doing 100 laps the day before?'.
"I spoke with somebody about this; you just subconsciously learn what happens. Yesterday, I didn't think I was driving any different, but the brain just automatically learned and that's where I want to find myself. I want to go back to that place where I'm subconsciously learning how to improve, [where] I'm not chasing those answers, because I know I can do it and I've done it my whole career and that's what I'm excited about."Kimi is doing such an amazing job at the moment, but his driving style is exactly the same as his driving style of last year and it's clicking. He hasn't chased it, it's just clicking for him perfectly well.
"I know it can click for me again as it did in Melbourne and China."
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