George Russell Plays Down Title Contender Status

George Russell doesn’t think he’ll win the 2025 world championship.

On paper, the experienced Mercedes driver is not only in one of the top cars this year, he’s also one of the standout performers, only failing to finish on the podium at Suzuka so far.

Indeed, he’s only six points behind reigning champion Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, has more than double the points haul of impressive rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli, and is just 14 points off the championship lead.

According to rumours, he’s now cruising towards a lucrative two or three-year contract extension at Mercedes, having earned the highest possible praise from team boss Toto Wolff.

However, 27-year-old Russell doesn’t see himself as a real title contender.

“I’d love to say so, but I don’t think we are, to be honest,” said the Briton. “McLaren are just too dominant right now.”

In the heat in Bahrain, Russell thinks the McLaren was at “peak performance”. “And what we saw in China and Suzuka is probably their worst-case scenario and they still obviously got one victory from those two races.

“In Bahrain we picked up the pieces to get a P2, and we did it in Melbourne as well to get the P3,” Russell added, “but I don’t expect this to continue for many races to come. But who knows.”

Russell, however, insisted he is used to being the underdog.

“The last three years alongside Lewis (Hamilton), neither his or my name was ever mentioned as a title contender,” he said. “This year, our start to the season has been fantastic. I don’t think we could have done better than we did.

“But we also know that the McLarens are incredibly strong. It’s going to be a huge task for anyone to fight them.”

Still, the 3-time Grand Prix winner says he’s a happy Formula 1 driver.

“As a driver, my dream has already come true,” said Russell. “The reality is that if we want to fight for the championship this year, we have to improve.

“But I’m not looking for external recognition. I just want to race every weekend, perform, and do my job.”