The Japan Times - Going back to basics helped Russell feel like himself again

The pre-season title favourite won the first race of the campaign in Melbourne but then struggled as his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli stormed to victory in the next five GPs to take a dominant championship lead.

Russell starts Sunday's Grand Prix third in the standings, 68 points behind Italian teenager Antonelli.

"It's been a difficult few races for me, obviously bad luck, (there have) been some poor performances in there but (I) went back to an approach that I knew works for me this weekend," Russell told reporters at Montmelo.

"More important than the pole position for me was just seeing every lap of the whole weekend... I felt good and felt like myself again."

Russell, who scored no points in Monaco after a late drive-through penalty, explained how going his own way was the key to his performance on Saturday.

"Car setup, mentality, just going back to basics really," continued the 28-year-old.

"These cars are so complicated, the tyres are complicated, the power units are complicated and it's challenging to get on top of things... especially when you've got (Antonelli)... performing so well.

"You're trying to constantly improve and I think that doing some copy-pasting probably really put me on the back foot, so as I said, this weekend I've just gone in my own direction, and that's what I've done in the past few years and I'm really glad to see it paying off."

- 'Tricky weekend' -

Just 0.064 seconds behind Russell in qualifying was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who forced Antonelli onto the second row.

Hamilton said that his performance was a surprise after sitting out the first practice session and then labouring in the next two.

"It's been a very, very tricky weekend for me, personally. (I) really, really struggled to get on pace after missing P1," said Hamilton, whose Ferrari was heavily upgraded going into the weekend.

"I needed to make a huge leap going into qualifying... it was just having confidence in the car, in the rear of the car, and I think we did a really good job making adjustments," he added.

"We kind of know where our North Star is, and for them to bring this upgrade here this weekend, I can't thank them enough."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that Hamilton, whom he managed for over a decade, is always a threat.

"My old friend... when people doubted whether he still had the speed, I've always said if he's in the right frame of mind and the car suits him, then he is to be reckoned with," Wolff told Sky Sports.

"If there isn't a tiny mistake at the end, he is a tenth-and-a-half quicker than us."

T.Ueda--JT