George Russell experienced his toughest race in the 2026 Formula 1 season so far, at the Japanese GP, and finished off the podium for the first time this year. For former F1 driver and current commentator Martin Brundle, Russell let himself be carried away by frustration during the race at Suzuka.
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The former driver believes that Russell ‘lost his head’ after a sequence of events during the race, especially involving his teammate Kimi Antonelli. The situation ended up influencing the final result and caused the Briton to lose ground in the championship battle.
Russell was in second position when he pitted shortly before the Safety Car was deployed, triggered after a heavy crash by Haas’s Oliver Bearman. As a result, Antonelli, who had not yet stopped, inherited the lead by coming back out in front after his own stop.
During the neutralization period, Russell questioned the team over the radio about a possible agreement between the two drivers. He asked if Antonelli would resume the race in a previously agreed position, which could benefit both.
In his analysis for Sky F1, Brundle highlighted that the Briton was frustrated at not receiving the answer he expected: “At the restart, George was caught out, as happened in China. If there is an agreement, we will do it at the restart, that’s what he said. He asked if they were going to do that.”
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According to the former driver, Russell also suffered from energy problems at the restart, which made it easier for opponents to attack: “He didn’t get the answer he wanted and, at the restart, clearly didn’t have the battery where it needed to be, because the Ferrari cars were all over him again,” he stated.
Brundle believes that the frustration compromised the rest of the race: “George got frustrated and lost his head a bit. He had the race under control, he probably would have overtaken Piastri later,” he added.
Russell finished the race in fourth position, ending his streak of podiums this season. The result also caused the driver to drop to second place in the drivers’ championship, behind Antonelli.
Brundle advised Russell to take advantage of the April break to regroup before the next round: “Overall, he needs to regroup. He goes to Miami a few points behind his teammate. These are tough times for George. He needs to treat Kimi Antonelli as he would treat Lewis Hamilton in his prime, as a championship threat,” he completed.
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