ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — George Russell is back at the front of Formula 1 with a new driving style and nothing to lose.

Russell started the second half of the season with a sprint race win and second place in qualifying on Saturday. He said he’d used the mid-season break to learn from the techniques that have taken his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to the top of the standings, and shed stress along the way.

“After the break I just feel way more relaxed. I don’t think I’ve got anything to lose,” Russell said. “I’m just going to go out, enjoy it, and I don’t even really feel in a fight. It’s not mine to lose, it’s mine to gain.”

In nearly a month since the last race in Hungary, Russell got engaged — he joked Friday that he’s faster for no longer carrying the ring around — and he took inspiration not just from Antonelli, who he said was doing an “amazing job” with the 2026 car and tires, but from the world of golf.

“If you change your golf swing you’ll probably take half a step back first before making those improvements. I think the break just allowed me to put those learnings into the back of my mind, come here this weekend, not fixating on what I want to try and achieve with the car and the tires but knowing it,” he said.

“I’m really, really proud of that because it’s just building that toolbox of experience for me that’s going to allow me to be even better in the years to come.”

Stability works for Russell and Mercedes

Russell’s new approach has been supported by a Mercedes car with a basic design that’s been stable enough to stay at the front even as the team hasn’t brought the rapid succession of upgrades like McLaren and Ferrari have done. Mercedes’ last major upgrade package was at the Canadian Grand Prix in May.

By contrast, Norris spent Saturday still getting to grips with an upgraded McLaren which lacked pace through slow corners in the sprint race before finding extra pace to qualify on pole.

“I think we do have a very strong car, we have a strong base. We clearly had a sizable advantage at the start of this season,” Russell said after the sprint race. “Only time will tell if we have made the best sort of compromise in terms of when we bring these upgrades to the car.”

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