George Russell makes F1 title admission after latest podium boost

George Russell has conceded he does not believe he is part of the F1 title battle this year despite his strong start to the 2025 campaign.

Russell ended the Bahrain Grand Prix in second place, marking his third podium in the opening four grands prix.

The Mercedes driver currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings, 14 points behind championship leader Lando Norris following their dual in Bahrain which saw Russell hold off his rival in the final laps.

The pair were unable to make in-roads on race-winner Oscar Piastri who scored a dominant win for McLaren.

Although Russell has enjoyed his strongest start to a season by far, the 27-year-old does not see himself figuring in the title equation this year.

“I’d love to say so, but I don’t think we are, to be honest,” Russell told media including RacingNews365. “McLaren are just too dominant right now.

“I think this is probably going to be their peak performance – what we saw in Bahrain.

“And what we saw in China and Suzuka is probably their worst-case scenario and they still obviously got one victory from those two races.”

While Russell is enjoying a strong stint to open the campaign, he warned his consistent results may not be a common theme going forward.

“We’ve got to keep on picking up the points, picking up the pieces,” he said. “And [in Bahrain] we picked up the pieces to get a P2 – and we did it in Melbourne as well to get the P3. 

“I don’t expect this to continue for many races to come, but who knows.”