After a dominant victory at Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes driver George Russel said he feels ready to fight for a world title.
The win was the fifth of Russell's career and his second this season after securing victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.
It came on a circuit that Russell crashed out on two years ago while chasing down a chance at a victory in the final laps, and he believes his measured performance on Sunday is proof of his progression as a driver.
"I'm a very different driver today to the one I was a couple of years ago, and I feel more complete, more confident," he said after Sunday's victory. "I know exactly what I need to do in given circumstances.
"Of course, I was nervous before the race as you'd expect, but I didn't feel any additional nerves or any additional pressure. It just felt like another race, and I knew I had a chance to win, and I felt comfortable with that.
"So, you know, I've said it for a while -- I feel ready to fight for a championship. I feel ready to take it to my next step."
Since joining Mercedes in 2022, Russell has not had a car capable of fighting for championships.
Across three seasons as teammate to Lewis Hamilton, he was only two points shy of the seven-time champion and currently leads rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli by 149 points after 18 races.
He believes he has matured as a driver in the past two years and would take full advantage of a car capable of delivering consistent victories across a season.
"I think it comes with experience, just knowing how to maximise every situation," he said. "Probably a couple of years ago I was driving a bit more tense and probably over-pushing in circumstances when I shouldn't have been.
"Now I just feel much more relaxed. Going into today, I was relaxed. When it was raining an hour before the race, I just said, you know, it is what it is. It's the same for everybody.
"There's nothing I can do, so there's no point stressing about it. I think myself a few years ago would have been slightly different."
