George Russell 2026: Results, Sprint Wins and Radio | Formula Dream
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George Russell's 2026 season, measured: three Grand Prix wins, three sprint wins, and the races taken away
George Russell is fourth in the 2026 championship on 250 points, with three Grand Prix wins and more sprint wins than anyone. He is also the driver who lost most to things outside his control: a battery failure from the lead in Canada, a power unit failure at Sepang, and a penalty Mercedes served wrongly in Monaco.
George Russell was leading the Canadian Grand Prix from pole on lap 30 when his Mercedes simply switched itself off. A battery had suffered what the team called a catastrophic failure. His team mate inherited the lead and won.
"It feels like somebody doesn't want me to fight for this championship," he said afterwards. Nineteen rounds into 2026, that sentence has aged well. His team mate Kimi Antonelli is world champion, and Russell is fourth on 250 points, with three Grand Prix wins, five poles and
. A large part of the 130 points between them was decided in three races where he was not beaten on pace.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on George Russell's team radio page, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of his 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
1
Australian
Pole
Won
2
Chinese
2nd
2nd
3
Japanese
2nd
4th
4
Miami
5th
4th
5
Canadian
Pole
Retired, lap 30
6
Monaco
6th
12th
7
Barcelona
Pole
2nd
Grand Prix results only. Sprint results are below.
Rounds 8 to 19:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
8
Austrian
Pole
Won
9
British
4th
2nd
10
Belgian
3rd
Retired, lap 1
11
Hungarian
6th
7th
12
Dutch
2nd
3rd
13
Italian
2nd
2nd
14
Spanish (Madrid)
6th
5th
15
Azerbaijan
Pole
Won
16
Bahrain (at Sepang)
7th
Retired, lap 50 (classified 20th)
17
Singapore
19th
9th
18
United States
6th
8th
19
Mexico City
2nd
6th
Starting positions are the grid after penalties. In Singapore he qualified sixth and started nineteenth after a power unit penalty.
The season in numbers
3 Grand Prix wins, the season opener in Melbourne, the Austrian Grand Prix and Baku, all three from pole. Baku was won by 0.196 seconds, the closest finish in the ten races held there.
3 sprint wins from 6, in China, Canada and at Zandvoort. Nobody else has more than one.
5 pole positions: Melbourne, Montreal, Barcelona, the Red Bull Ring and Baku, where he was 0.837 seconds clear of the next car.
8 Grand Prix podiums from 17 races: the three wins, second in China, Barcelona, Silverstone and Monza, and third at Zandvoort.
250 points, 216 from Grands Prix and 34 from sprints, fourth in the championship, 11 behind Max Verstappen in second.
His sprints: first in China, fourth in Miami, first in Canada, fourth at Silverstone, first at Zandvoort, and out on the first lap in Singapore.
The three races that decided the gap
Canada: leading, then nothing
Russell and Antonelli had traded the lead through the opening stages in Montreal. On lap 30 Russell's car cut out. Mercedes later said the battery had suffered a catastrophic failure that killed the engine. Antonelli won his fourth race in a row. It was Russell's first retirement of the season, and it came a day after he had won the sprint.
Monaco: a penalty served wrongly
Russell was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, which he said the team told him was a software issue rather than anything he did. When he pitted under the late safety car, the five seconds were not served before the car was worked on, so the penalty became a drive-through. He served it on the first racing lap after the red flag restart and fell from third to thirteenth, classified twelfth. Toto Wolff called the handling of the penalty "clearly our mistake".
Spa: out on the first lap
Russell held third through the opening corners, then lost three places on the Kemmel Straight when his battery deployment did not deliver. Trying to take one back around the outside of Lewis Hamilton into Les Combes, the two touched and Russell went into the gravel. He called the energy problem "dangerous" afterwards. He had arrived at Spa 25 points behind Antonelli, two years after crossing the line first there and being disqualified (every Belgian Grand Prix since 2000).
Add up what those three races cost and the championship looks very different. That is not the same as saying he would be leading: Antonelli has lost races of his own. But it is why the gap is 130 points with four races left rather than a race or two.
The two wins
Melbourne, from pole, in the first race of the new regulations. Austria, from pole again, and his radio after the flag was pure joy:
George RussellMercedes · Austrian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:30:44 local
EngineerGood job, mate. Woo!
DriverThat was two years ago. Yabba-dabba-doo!
EngineerYabba-dabba-doo.
DriverWell, well done, guys. I'm happy. Well done. Thank you so, so. Good team result. Well done. Well done, everybody.
"Drink system failed, nice race for it to do so. I'm a little bit thirsty." His engineer promised a drink on the podium. Every message from that race is in our Austrian Grand Prix 2026 race radio archive.
Monza: the race he could see coming
At Monza, Russell led and Antonelli was coming through from nineteenth on the grid. The radio told him exactly what was going to happen:
George RussellMercedes · Italian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:34:22 local
DriverI'm giving up at the moment.
EngineerCurrently, Kimi forecast to catch right at end of race.
"Kimi forecast to catch right at end of race." Then his tyre started to go:
George RussellMercedes · Italian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:43:42 local
EngineerSo we can see the damage on the tyre and these vibrations picking up every lap. So let's take no risks. Let's just bring this back Bring it home
"We can see the damage on the tyre, and these vibrations picking up every lap. So let's take no risks." Antonelli passed him on lap 50 and won. Mercedes finished one and two. The full race is in our Italian GP race report.
Sepang to Mexico City: fourteen points from four weekends
After winning Baku from pole, Russell scored two points in the next two weekends. At Sepang he ran in the top three through a wet, then drying, race and was third on lap 50 when the power unit failed:
George RussellMercedes · Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 18:12:28 local
DriverJake, PU, something feels weird, tumult, engine breaking, PU hot, I think PU's broken OK, we need to stop the car, stop the car Guys, sorry for that, I'm
"I think PU's broken," he reported, and the car was stopped. A week later in Singapore, a power unit penalty put him nineteenth on the grid. On Saturday he crashed out of the lead of the sprint at the final corner of its first lap. On Sunday he made one stop, passed Pierre Gasly for ninth on lap 48, and took two points. The full races are in the Bahrain GP 2026 race report and the Singapore sprint report.
Austin went little better. He started sixth, made contact with Oscar Piastri on the first lap and was investigated for it:
George RussellMercedes · United States Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 15:17:01 local
EngineerGeorge, we are currently under investigation for gaining an advantage, 10-13 on that one I
Driverwas on the inside, he
Engineerwas overtaken on the outside, that's his wrist Yeah, so it's both 12 and 13, couldn't agree more with you
"George, we are currently under investigation for gaining an advantage". He finished eighth, and his four points were the result Antonelli needed to stay on course for the title (US GP 2026 race report). In Mexico City he qualified second, 0.009 seconds off pole, but lost ground at the start, tipped Isack Hadjar into a spin at turn 6 and took a 10 second penalty. He finished sixth, and his team mate was champion (Mexico City GP 2026 race report).
What is left
Four rounds remain, all without sprints: Sao Paulo, where he won from pole in 2022, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The title is gone, but second is not: Verstappen has 261, Hamilton 259, Russell 250 and Charles Leclerc 245. The Sao Paulo times are in our Sao Paulo GP 2026 preview.
Results, grid positions and points come from formula1.com's official results and starting grids, and match the championship standings after the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The radio count is what Formula 1 broadcast, not everything said. Our 2026 radio begins at the Canadian Grand Prix, and his Spa radio was not broadcast on the world feed, so it is not in our archive.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
Why did George Russell retire from the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix?
His Mercedes suffered a battery failure while he was leading from pole on lap 30. Mercedes described it as a catastrophic failure that killed the engine.
How many sprint races has George Russell won in 2026?
Three of the six held in 2026: China, Canada and the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. No other driver has won more than one.
Why did George Russell finish 12th in Monaco in 2026?
A five-second pit lane speeding penalty was not served correctly at his pit stop, so it became a drive-through, which dropped him from third to thirteenth after the red flag restart. He was classified twelfth after another driver's penalty.
Where is George Russell in the 2026 championship?
Fourth, on 250 points after the Mexico City Grand Prix, 11 behind Max Verstappen in second. His team mate Kimi Antonelli won the title in Mexico City.
Sources
Race and sprint results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1 and formula1.com results, matching the championship standings published after the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Hear the next one live
The moment a Mercedes shuts itself off from the lead, the radio is the only place anyone explains it.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as the stewards publish it, including penalty decisions like the one that turned Russell's Monaco from third into twelfth. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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