George Russell says he’s a more relaxed driver than he was earlier in his career after winning the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver crashed out of the race on the final lap two years ago, while running third. He finished the race for the first time last year.

Russell is in his seventh season in Formula 1 and fourth with Mercedes. He said experience has taught him to be more patient.

“I think it comes with experience, just knowing how to maximise every situation,” said Russell after his victory on Sunday. “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.”

He said the rain which hit the track shortly before the start of the race would have disturbed him more in previous seasons.

“Going into today, I was relaxed,” he said. “When it was raining an hour before the race, I just said ‘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 for myself a few years ago it would have been slightly different.”

He scored the fifth victory of his career on Sunday. He led the field home three times last year but was disqualified in Spa due to a technical infringement.

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Russell said his successes have given him more confidence in his ability to win races and potentially championships.

“I mean, this track has not been my best friend over the years, and that’s often been through my own doing. But I’m a very different driver today to the one I was a couple of years ago, and I feel more complete, more confident. 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. I’ve said it for a while — I feel ready to fight for a championship. I feel ready to take it to the next step.”

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