This article was updated on 5 October 2026, bringing our original coverage of George Russell’s reaction up to date. It was first published as the original reaction piece. The Russell Baku grand slam win in Azerbaijan remains the standout moment of his 2026 season so far.
Russell took pole, led every lap and set the fastest lap in Baku to complete the grand slam, his first in Formula 1. It was his third win of the year and ended a six race run without a victory, a run that had included Kimi Antonelli’s win at Monza.
Russell’s reaction to Baku
Russell didn’t hide how tough the winless run had felt. “It would have been very easy for me to lose the faith this season. Not necessarily about winning the championship, but in terms of my ability, and that never happened.”
On the weekend itself, he said: “I think it’s probably my first grand slam in Formula 1 and, for sure, the most dominant weekend I’ve had in my career. So, that has come at a really great moment. And also to achieve it on a circuit that requires so much commitment and confidence, I’m really proud of it.” His first words after climbing from the car were simpler. “It feels great.”
He was quick to credit his side of the garage too. Russell said he was proud of the resilience shown by him and his close group of engineers through a difficult run. He credited them for the hard work that helped him adapt his driving style to suit Mercedes’ new car this year.
Russell said those changes were finally clicking. He explained that the adjustments to his driving style had started to feel natural again, and that he was gaining confidence race by race. Racing in Baku, he said, let him push that bit further on the brakes and get closer to the walls, calling it “a flawless weekend.”
Asked how he had kept believing in himself through the quiet weeks, Russell pointed to patience rather than doubt. He said he never lost that faith in himself, and knew there was a reason he was off the pace rather than having forgotten how to drive. “I just had to be patient,” he said.
What the Baku win means
The Russell Baku grand slam is the result that ended his longest winless run of the year. Pole position, every lap led and the fastest lap of the race made it, in his own words, the most complete weekend of his career.
It wasn’t a comfortable afternoon throughout. A double safety car period bunched the field together late on, and Max Verstappen got a fresh run at the lead when the race restarted. Russell held firm to take the win ahead of him.
In the bigger picture, the result moves his season forward without closing the gap at the top. Russell remains 66 points behind Antonelli in the championship, a reminder that one strong weekend changes form more than it changes the table.
What happens next
Russell framed Baku as part of a wider upswing rather than a one off result. “I feel confident,” he said, pointing to a front row start in three of his last four races and three podiums from those four outings since the summer break. That run, he felt, meant he could now fight for wins on a more regular basis.
The championship now moves on to Bahrain, then the delayed Malaysian round at Sepang. Readers can follow that race through our Bahrain GP win update and our Bahrain GP red flag report, and the fallout through our Verstappen software piece. Russell’s own build up to the return to Asia is covered in our Russell Malaysia feature and our Sepang return explainer.
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