Revitalised Russell confident of fighting for victory 'week-in, week-out'

[p]The Briton capped what he called the most "dominant weekend I've had ‌in my career", having achieved a 'grand slam' in ‌Baku, starting from pole, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap ‌and finishing off with a win.[/p][p][b]"I think I never ‌lost that faith in myself,"[/b] said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a], who kept a charging [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a] at bay for much of the race's closing stages.[/p][p]His ‌form around a layout that rewards confidence ⁠but is known for catching ‌drivers out stands in stark contrast to struggles earlier in a ​season that saw him eclipsed by 20-year-old championship-leading teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Kimi Antonelli[/a].[/p][embed guid="1e198e7e-09b9-4f3d-be7e-3a2d9ab00419" url="https://x.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/2103863179956854889" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Italian has scored eight wins to ​Russell’s three, but Russell said work he put in to adapt his driving style to the 2026 cars over the ⁠sport's summer break ​had been key to his return to form.[/p][p][b]"Even through the tough moments I knew there was a reason why I was off the pace,"[/b] he said.[/p][p][b]"You know, it's been four races ‌since the break. I’ve been on the front row in three of them, three podiums from the four races. I feel I can fight for victory week-in, week-out now."[/b][/p][embed guid="b37b1dcf-9d2f-4842-bbe0-a4f3b5dcff18" url="https://x.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/2103941427080122608" social-type="twitter" /][p]Antonelli, however, said he had his worst weekend of the season. He started 16th after crashing out of qualifying and finished fifth in the race.[/p][p]That allowed Russell to narrow the gap to Antonelli at the head of the standings ‌from 81 points to 66.[/p][p]Russell said his focus was on ​winning every race and he wasn't thinking of the ‌title.[/p][p][b]"If the season were to have started today, or since the summer break, I feel very much I would have been able to fight,"[/b] he added.[/p][p][b]"Now I’ve got this big deficit. So I’m not chasing that. ⁠I’m chasing to win ⁠every race, and what ‌will be, will be."[/b][/p]