'Not my driving style' - Russell changes mind over reason for Antonelli deficit

George Russell: Mercedes driver says driving style not to blame for deficit to team-mate Kimi Antonelli at Belgian GP George Russell had said ahead of the Belgian GP that he was working on changing his driving style in an attempt to find more pace; after qualifying at Spa his view had changed; watch the Belgian GP on Sunday at 2pm with build-up from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1 Saturday 18 July 2026 18:32, UK George Russell says he no longer believes his driving style is the reason he is struggling to match the pace of his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Britain's Russell started the season as the clear title favourite but has been consistently outpaced by Antonelli for much of the year, and trails the Italian by 25 points at the top of the championship. Russell has become increasingly perplexed in recent weeks as his pace deficit has grown, with the latest example coming as he finished more than half a second behind Antonelli in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday as the 19-year-old took pole. - Belgian GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky Sports - F1 2026 standings | F1 2026 calendar | F1 Gossip Column - Download the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more📱 - Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 Having been completely outpaced by Antonelli two weeks ago at the British Grand Prix, Russell had said on Thursday in Belgium that he was working on changing his driving style and was like "a golfer with a new swing". However, speaking to Sky Sports F1 on Saturday, he said: "That's what we thought coming out of Silverstone. We thought it was in the driving style and technique, but we have finally concluded it's not. "We have changed everything. "There was fourth tenths in the straights in Q3. It's frustrating. Every single lap I've come in this weekend and seeing anywhere from two tenths to four tenths to five [tenths]. In FP2 it was seven tenths. "The team are working so hard to understand what it is. We saw it as early as Austria, actually. signs but we always thought there was a reason. Sprint Qualifying in Silverstone we saw three-and-a-half tenths loss, we thought we found the problem. "So we keep going through this process of 'oh, we think it's this'. We change it. 'Oh it's not this, maybe it's the driving style'. "I thought it was the driving style. Honestly, I came into this weekend and said on Thursday 'I think it's the driving style'. Changed the driving style and it's not the driving style. "The team are working super hard to understand what it is." 'Like battling with one hand behind your back' Russell qualified fourth but will start a position higher on the grid because third-placed Lando Norris is serving a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit parts allocation. Despite his overall lack of pace, Russell has recently taken advantage of Antonelli's misfortune with reliability to close the gap in the championship. The Brit insists he will once more attempt to grind out a "great result" at Spa on Sunday. Russell added: "Anything can happen but the truth is battling against my team-mate, who is such an incredible driver and doing such a great job at the moment, in the best of times is a tall order, but I feel confident head-to-head I can achieve it. "But when it feels like you are battling with one had behind your back, it's a challenge. "But we had the issue in Silverstone and ended up P2 on the podium so I pray, I'm going to try and endure the pain of this issue tomorrow and hope for a great result, and try to find a solution for next week [in Hungary]." Chandhok confused by 'contradicting' statements Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok was left confused by Russell's conclusion, given he had understood Mercedes were attributing the gap between their drivers at Spa to Antonelli's ability to drive more efficiently. Chandhok said: "I feel like we need to hear a bit from Mercedes on this, after hearing George Russell's comments. "I exchanged a few messages with people at Mercedes during qualifying to ask what was going on with George. "And they said, it's a strength of Kimi's, he's able to be efficient and carry good corner speed and harvest the energy, so he's good down the straights. "And that's contradicting what George is saying, because he's alluding to there being some mechanical reason why there's a discrepancy, not to do with a driving style. "I feel like only the team can answer this really, not us. Because they are privy to much more data and information, in terms of the corner style, the inputs, but also the technical side." Speaking to Sky Sports F1 before Russell's post-session comments, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff suggested there was some confusion within the team over where Russell was losing out. "With George, we need to find out [the issues]," Wolff said. "There are some losses in the corners but there are also quite some losses on the straights and we have been trying to find out what that is and couldn't up until now." Sky Sports F1's Belgian GP schedule Sunday July 19 7.30am: F3 Feature Race 9am: F2 Feature Race 10.45am: Porsche Supercup 12.30pm: Belgian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday 2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 4pm: Belgian GP reaction: Chequered Flag *Also on Sky Sports Main Event Formula 1 is at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix with Sunday's race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime