atlas, rise!

"When we get in the car is when we are free. That’s when I am myself."

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June, 2026 — Notes on faith and patience

I talked about trust around the Canadian grand prix. I put my trust in George, I put my trust in the W17. For the most part, they delivered. It was an excellent weekend until the heartbreak. But something that stuck out to me is how insanely nervous I was about the outcome of that race. I was shaking. I was so scared. I did some introspection and I fear I might be a little bit of a hypocrite. Do I really trust in George, if every lap I'm scared he'll lose position? Do I really have faith? I fear I might not. I fear deep in my heart I didn't really believe he could win it. I fear deep in my heart I trusted that something awful was going to happen, and I trembled in fear of being made to look like a fool for putting my faith in a stupid dream. I never fully trusted him the way that I said I will.

Today, I'm taking a deep breath. Whatever will be, will be. And there are so many good things still yet to come. Do I believe George can win the championship? Yes. Even if he's not the greatest driver of all times. One doesn't have to be a legend to win a world championship, I've seen it in other sports I follow. Most of the times it's about who's never ever given up. Woke up every morning, showed up, performed to the best of their abilities, and, more importantly, had patience. One foot in front of the other, one hand over the other, climbing at a steady pace, hanging on when others rush past in a flurry of excitement. I will be so happy if he gets it this year. And if not, I'll believe he'll show up next year and try again. And I'll support him all over, because I'll never stop believing.

And if he never gets it? Well, I'd rather not think about this right now. There's no point to it. But life goes on. This is a beautiful sport. I will have lost nothing by following one man's story out of hundreds.

I know George will always do his best. And so I'll do my absolute best to not be scared anymore.

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04.06.2026, Monaco George Russell in the media pen, original photo by Mark Sutton.

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04.06.2026, Monaco George Russell arrives in the paddock for media day, original photo by Marco Talluto.

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04.06.2026, Monaco George Russell in the garage ahead of the Monaco grand prix, original photo by Marco Talluto.

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21.05.2026, Canada — Tuesday press conference Which one of your qualities as a driver do you think could give you the edge in the championship?

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24.05.2026, Canada George Russell on the grid before the race, shot by James Moy.

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23.05.2026, Canada George in the paddock after the sprint race, shot by Michael Potts.

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George Russell's 2026 season 05. Canada — P1 in the sprint race, DNF in the main race

I am proud of my weekend, no matter that it ended in a retirement today. I took pole for the Sprint, won that race, took pole for the Grand Prix and was leading before we had the Power Unit issue that finished our race. I know there is nothing more I could have done this weekend to perform and that fills me with confidence moving forward into the rest of the season. It is of course a painful way to finish our Canadian Grand Prix weekend, but I will leave here satisfied that I did my best. Up until lap 30, I was thoroughly enjoying the race. I loved the battle with Kimi, and I am sure he did too. It was like going back to karting days where you are racing wheel-to-wheel, swapping the lead multiple times. I hope everyone enjoyed watching it as much as I enjoyed being in it. I just wish we could have continued it until the end of the Grand Prix.

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so come on, come on, i can take it // give me everything you've got // what else, what else, what else, what else?

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23.05.2026, Canada. George Russell qualifies on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix. Original photo by Mark Thompson.

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21.05.2026, Canada George speaks with the press ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, shot by Brett Farmer.

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21.05.2026, Canada — Tuesday press conference. George: Miami was obviously a very tough race for me, but a huge amount learned from that and I feel great coming into this weekend. Tom Clarkson: What was the biggest learning from Miami?

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08.06.2024, Canada George Russell in parc fermé after securing pole qualifying in first place, photographed by Bryn Lennon.

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All you have is your fire // and the place you need to reach // Don't you ever tame your demons // but always keep them on a leash

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09.06.2024, Canada George meets the grid kids ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Original photo by Bryn Lennon.

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Made myself a little playlist out of all time favorite songs that also remind me of George. I tried to arrange them like a movie sound track, just for fun.

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May, 2026 — A resolution

When George qualified sixth for the Miami sprint, I faltered. I had a moment where the overwhelming voice of the Internet got to me and I thought what is the point of rooting for a guy who's never going to win? Maybe it's true what they say. Maybe he really is bad at driving. The Miami grand prix was a long weekend. Sprint qualifications, sprint race, grand prix qualifications, grand prix race, a relentless roller coaster of hope and disappointment. Something happened to me that weekend.

I did some introspection. If this guy sucks so bad, why did I start rooting for him in the first place? Why wasn't I automatically a Hamilton fan, why didn't I pick Verstappen, who seemingly never disappoints and is so protected by his fans? Why was this comfort not appealing to me? Because I didn't want someone who had been a winner. I didn't want someone who had proven himself. When I started watching Formula 1, George had two wins to his name and Mercedes was in fourth place in the constructors championship. I wanted to watch this team claw their way out of the hole. And I wanted to root for a guy who was not yet a champion, but could be. A guy I would watch win his first championship. A happiness not told to me in stories and photos, but that I would get to witness in real time. Rooting for George has never been about the past, it has always been about the future. And it still is. Everyday I see people list his past mistakes as proof that he's a mediocre driver who doesn't deserve his seat. It doesn't stop me from believing that he'll get better in the future. Last year, I watched him complete every lap his car allowed him too, I watched him finish every race in the points, when the car allowed him to. I watched him pull off an amazing drive under pressure in Bahrain. I watched him win decisively a race he'd previously fumbled in Canada. I watched him get redemption for the embarrassing loss in Singapore. I watched him, with my own two eyes, get in the car after disappointments, after losses, after mistakes and criticism, and try again. And succeed. Bettering himself. Craft a smile out of past tears. Keep his head held high. Nothing ever shattered his confidence.

Always these islands of hope in the ocean of disappointments.

There was a moment when I wanted to delete that little series of photosets chronicling George's 2026 season that I started. And I felt like a fool and hypocrite and a terrible person. I said this was my guy, I said I support him, I said I root for him, and there I was, falling at the first hurdle. What kind of person does that? What kind of person breaks their promise like that? I don't know if George will win the championship this year. But neither do those people who say he definitely won't. Nobody knows. Nobody could possibly know what will happen in the future.

I decided I'll root for George this year, that I'll stick by him, that he will be my guy. That's why I made this side blog in the first place. And I'll do that regardless of him being the championship leader or not. I'll find good things in every performance, I'll find a good story in every race, in the wins, in the losses, in the highs and lows, in the brilliance and disappointments alike. I came into this sport as a lover of the relationship between humans and their cars. This year the car is the W17 and the human is a British man named George Russell. So I'll watch them ride together, sometimes at odds, sometimes as one body, one mind. And it will be beautiful regardless, even if it will be tragic.

Come what may. Because no matter what happens, I know George will try again next race. And the race after that, and the race after that, and next year, and the following year, and in all the years to come. He's committed to the dream. And so I shall be too.