Former IndyCar Series driver and current F1 TV analyst James Hinchcliffe has urged George Russell to treat the remaining rounds of the 2026 season as an extended test program for 2027, declaring the Briton’s championship challenge a “write-off” following the Spanish Grand Prix.
Spanish GP Deals Blow to Russell’s Title Hopes
The inaugural race at the Madring circuit in Madrid delivered a significant setback for Russell. While his Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli capitalised on a well-timed virtual safety car period to secure his eighth career victory, Russell endured a frustrating afternoon to finish fifth.
The result extended Antonelli’s advantage in the drivers’ standings to 81 points. Although the 28-year-old Russell could still mathematically claim the title, he admitted after the race that his title aspirations are effectively over.
“Realistically, I’m not in the fight for the drivers, and that just allows me just to focus on race-by-race and trying to focus on just getting some good results,”
Russell told F1 TV.
Hinchcliffe: “2027 Starts in Baku”
Reviewing Russell’s comments on the F1 TV post-race show, Hinchcliffe suggested the Mercedes driver should immediately shift his focus toward 2027 and diagnose the performance deficit relative to his team-mate.
“I’m going to be honest, most people are [realistically out of the championship] at this point. So, it’s probably best that he takes that mentality and just takes it race by race. Focus on finding what it is that is holding him back from matching the pace of Kimi. He’s now got this next string of races before the end of the season to really dial in so that way he can hit the ground running in 2027. This year is a write-off from a championship standpoint for him. You’ve just got to use these years as learning and for him, in a sense, you can almost argue 2027 starts in Baku.”
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, scheduled for 24-26 September, represents the next opportunity for Russell to begin that preparation.
