- Russell trails teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli by nine points after three races.
- Button sees a calm, collected Russell and believes the deficit will not rattle him.
- 19 races remain, and five-week Miami break could be exactly what Russell needs.
Jenson Button is not worried about George Russell. The 2009 world champion saw the Mercedes driver recently and came away reassured. He says Russell looks calm, despite a difficult start to the 2026 season.
Button was speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting last weekend.
He had just driven his championship-winning Brawn GP car at the event. His message about Russell was simple and direct.
“I actually saw George a couple of days ago, just in passing, weirdly,” Button said, via RacingNews365. “And he seems very calm, collected; it won’t faze George. He knows his speed, and he knows it hasn’t gone his way.”
Russell sits nine points behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli after three races.
The Italian teenager has won back-to-back grands prix in China and Japan. What looked like a comfortable Russell lead has become a deficit.
A season of fine margins for Russell
Russell started the year strong. He won in Australia and claimed Sprint victory in China from pole. He looked every bit the championship favourite Mercedes expected.
Then things unravelled. A technical problem in qualifying at China cost him pole position. Antonelli seized the moment and turned pole into his first grand prix win.
Japan hurt even more. Russell pitted on lap 22. The safety car came out just one lap later, after Oliver Bearman’s crash at Spoon.
Antonelli had not yet stopped. He pitted under caution and emerged in the lead. Russell had no answer.
A software fault then made a bad day worse. The W17 entered an unintended “super clip” mode. It slowed the car instead of boosting it, and Charles Leclerc swept past.
Toto Wolff confirmed the blunder to Sky Sports F1. “It was a bug in the electric system, in the software, that we thought we were going to give him an advantage by deploying energy,” the Mercedes team principal said. “And what it gave him is a super clip that means it slows the car down.”
Russell was frustrated but measured at Suzuka. “Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” he told reporters. “One lap difference, and it probably would have been a race win. That’s frustrating.”
Button acknowledged the misfortune plainly. “He’s been very unlucky,” he said. “But you’ve got to take the rough for the smooth.”
A “powerhouse” in Button’s eyes
Button was unequivocal about Russell’s ability. He called him a “real powerhouse.” He said watching the two Mercedes drivers battle it out was one of the season’s highlights.
“For me, it’s an exciting championship to have those two fighting it out,” Button said. “Such a youngster, Kimi, so young. George, he’s a real powerhouse, I have to say. I’m a big fan of George.”
Button had flagged championship pressure as Russell’s real test before Australia. He drew on his own 2009 experience. “He’s very, very fast, very intelligent, and he’s got a great team,” he told Sky Sports F1 then. “But I thought I would [deal with it well], and I didn’t,” he added, laughing.
That he now sees Russell as steady and untroubled says something. The mental resilience Button once questioned is apparently no longer in doubt.
Antonelli’s rise and the intra-team dynamic
Antonelli has broken records at a startling rate. He is now Formula 1’s youngest polesitter, fastest-lap scorer, race leader and championship leader. The sport has rarely seen a teenager move this fast.
The mood at Mercedes has shifted with him. Staff at Brackley reportedly now see Antonelli as just as likely to win the title as Russell. That was not the view before the season began.
Russell has stayed measured. “I think we’re both professionals. We’ve still got a very good relationship, and it’s something we’re not even talking about within the team,” he said, per PlanetF1. He has also noted, correctly, that no championship is settled after three races.
A five-week break before Miami gives both drivers time to reset. Pirelli is expected to bring softer tyres to the race. Russell has spoken positively about the circuit and its potential for mixed weather.
Nineteen races remain. Button believes Russell will not buckle. And if the misfortune that has followed him eases, the gap at the top could close quickly.
