George Russell reveals key lesson from 2025 season: 'those small victories'

George Russell has recently weighed in on his biggest lesson from the 2025 season so far. The campaign, which has largely been dominated by the McLaren team, sees the British driver currently fourth in the Drivers’ standings.

Russell, who boasts the most podium finishes for a driver not named Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in 2025, detailed how he and the Mercedes team have largely adjusted their goals to a more realistic target on a weekend-by-weekend basis. The 27-year-old also stressed how he has learnt to celebrate the small victories throughout the campaign.

Speaking on the Untapped podcast, the King's Lynn native stated:

“You have to take those small victories. You've got to adjust your goals to a realistic goal for this given weekend. What is the realistic goal for this given season? To win the championship this year? It is not a realistic goal. Of course, we're working towards that, but if we don't achieve that goal, we shouldn't be, you know, kicking ourselves because we're just not in that position right now. That's when we're going into every single race weekend thinking, right, we think we've got an opportunity to fight for the podium here.”

“You have to teach yourself to take those small victories; otherwise you're going to get into a sort of negative spiral, a psychological struggle, and that's only going to impact your performance.”

George Russell during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend

George Russell's 2025 season so far

The 2025 season for George Russell, although unfolding in a manner far from what he may have envisaged at the start of the campaign, has seen him clinch a race victory — the Canadian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old has also secured six podium finishes, with the most recent coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Russell’s season has also been overshadowed by the uncertainty surrounding his future at Mercedes. However, team boss Toto Wolff has said that he wants to continue with him and Kimi Antonelli in the team in 2026.

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