George Russell has released his first public comments since Kimi Antonelli claimed the Formula 1 drivers' title in Mexico City.
After the Italian finished third to become the youngest F1 champion, Russell quickly left the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez without talking to the media, something which earned Mercedes a €5,000 fine.
Russell had finished sixth after incurring a 10-second time penalty for a collision on the opening lap with Isack Hadjar after starting on the front-row - but where a deployment issue on the run to Turn 1 had dropped him down the order.
Post-race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff labelled the result as a "catastrophic moment" for the Briton, who was "distraught."
Now, nearly 24 hours after the end of the race, Russell has taken to social media.
In a lengthy statement on Instagram, Russell described how his season had "quickly unravelled" after a dominant pole and win in the season-opener in Australia - as he vowed to "rediscover the performance I've been capable of producing for the majority of my career."
[Read the full statement below]
George Russell statement in full
"Now feels like a pretty suitable moment to speak from the heart.
"This season started off exactly how I had hoped but it very quickly unravelled with tough luck and poor performances.
"It’s been the first proper season of my career where I’ve had more bad days than good. Has it been tough to deal with? Yes, very.
"Has it been tough to pick myself up week in, week out? Yes, very. Confusion at times? Often. All I know is that I’ve given it my all and 2026 was not meant to be my year.
"I want to sincerely congratulate Kimi on what has been an absolutely incredible season. You truly deserve the Championship.
"Thank you to the team for producing the best car and power unit this season; it’s been inspiring to see everyone coming together over four tough years to bring Mercedes back to the top.
"Now, all I can promise is that for the rest of this season, and into the next one, I will be giving my absolute all to rediscover the performance I have been capable of producing for the majority of my career and fingers crossed a little bit of luck returns.
"Thanks for all the support."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on Mexico City but also look ahead to this weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix! Kimi Antonelli become world champion is a lead discussion, as is the latest Ferrari drama!
Rather watch this episode? Then click here!
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