George Russell told to turn focus to 2027 as title bid branded "a write-off" after Spanish GP

James Hinchcliffe believes George Russell should use the rest of the 2026 season to prepare for 2027

Former IndyCar Series driver and F1 TV analyst James Hinchcliffe has argued that George Russell must treat the remainder of the 2026 season as early preparation for 2027, declaring that the Briton's current championship fight is a "write-off" following the Spanish Grand Prix.

The inaugural race at the Madring circuit in Madrid delivered another blow to Russell's title hopes. While his Mercedes team-mate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli capitalised on a timely virtual safety car to claim his eighth career victory, Russell endured a frustrating race to finish fifth.

The result extended Antonelli's advantage over Russell to 81 points in the drivers' standings. Although the 28-year-old could still mathematically win the title, he admitted after the race that he is realistically not in the fight.

"Realistically, I'm not in the fight for the drivers, and that just allows me just to focus on race-by-race and trying to focus on just getting some good results," Russell told F1 TV.

Reviewing Russell's comments on the F1 TV post-race show, Hinchcliffe suggested that he should now move his focus to 2027 and work on figuring out what it is that is preventing him from matching his team-mate's performance.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

"I'm going to be honest, most people are [realistically out of the championship] at this point," Hinchcliffe explained. "So, it's probably best that he takes that mentality and just takes it race by race. Focus on finding what it is that is holding him back from matching the pace of Kimi.

"He's now got this next string of races before the end of the season to really dial in so that way he can hit the ground running in 2027. This year is a write-off from a championship standpoint for him. You've just got to use these years as learning and for him, in a sense, you can almost argue 2027 starts in Baku."

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place at the Baku City Circuit from 24-26 September.