George Russell 2026: Results, Sprint Wins and Radio
Guides
George Russell's 2026 season, measured: three sprint wins, two Grand Prix wins, and three races taken away
George Russell is second in the 2026 championship on 211 points, with 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 first lap exit at Spa, 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. Fourteen rounds into 2026, that sentence has aged well. Russell is second in the championship on 211 points, with two Grand Prix wins, four poles and three sprint wins from five, more than anyone else. He is also 81 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the same car, and a large part of that gap 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.
The next seven:
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
Starting positions are the grid after penalties.
The season in numbers
2 Grand Prix wins, the season opener in Melbourne and the Austrian Grand Prix, both from pole.
3 sprint wins from 5, in China, Canada and at Zandvoort. Nobody else has more than one.
4 pole positions: Melbourne, Montreal, Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring.
7 Grand Prix podiums from 14 races: the two wins, second in China, Barcelona, Silverstone and Monza, and third at Zandvoort.
211 points, 177 from Grands Prix and 34 from sprints, second in the championship, 81 behind Antonelli.
His sprints: first in China, fourth in Miami, first in Canada, fourth at Silverstone, first at Zandvoort.
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 81 points 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:
"Yabba-dabba-doo!" And then: "Well, well done, guys. I'm happy." A minute later he found out what had actually been hard about the race:
"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:
"Kimi forecast to catch right at end of race." Then his tyre started to go:
"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.
What is left
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September. Russell is 81 behind Antonelli with 233 points still available, and only 20 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third. The one sprint left, in Singapore, is the format he has been best at all year.
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the championship standings after the Spanish 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 five held so far: 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?
Second, on 211 points after the Spanish Grand Prix, 81 behind his team mate Kimi Antonelli and 20 ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Sources
Race and sprint results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the championship standings published after the 2026 Spanish 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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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
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
