This was supposed to be the summer of George.
Despite arriving at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix 20 points behind teammate Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship race, George Russell was on track for a weekend in Montreal that would put him right back in the fight. Russell captured pole position for the F1 Sprint race on Friday, held off Lando Norris and Antonelli after a hard fight with his teammate to take the win in that race on Saturday, and then took pole position for Sunday’s main event with a strong performance in qualifying.
And after yet another hard fight with Antonelli in the early stages of Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, with several changes between the two Mercedes drivers, Russell was leading the race.
Then, on Lap 30, his car stopped on the track. His race was over.
His frustration seemed to boil over as he exited his challenger:
And with Antonelli going on to take his fourth consecutive Grand Prix victory, Russell is left to wonder if his championship hopes have been brought to a halt as well.
“Disbelief,” said Russell to the official F1 channel when asked how he felt following his retirement, which the team attributed to a power unit failure. “It feels like somebody doesn’t want me to fight or compete for this championship.
“Three out of the last five races there’s just been something really going against us. [I’m] just a bit lost for words right now.”
Russell managed to find a silver lining after the race, pointing at how he responded to the “doubters” and the “chat” following the Miami Grand Prix, where he missed out on a podium for the second consecutive Grand Prix.
“Yeah, I loved the battle,” he said to the F1 channel. “I was happy with how I handled it, how I drove and I’m just pleased with the weekend in terms of my own personal performance.
“There were a lot of doubters maybe after Miami and a lot of chat, but I know what I can do. Pole in the Sprint, win the Sprint, pole in Qualifying, leading the race.
“Hard battles, I really loved the battle and I wanted to continue for 30 more laps. I would have loved to see how it would have panned out but here we are.”
When Russell announced his new contract with Mercedes prior to last season’s United States Grand Prix, he outlined how staying with the Silver Arrows gives him the best chance to win a championship. “Well for me I’m really happy to be continuing [with Mercedes] because the truth is if every single seat was available for next year and I could choose any single team to race for, I believe Mercedes is my best chance of winning the championship next year, and for me winning is is more about winning than it is about money or sponsor days or anything,” said Russell to the media, including SB Nation, during the media day in Austin last October.
“I want to win, and this is what I’m fighting for.”
There is certainly a long way to go this season, but at the moment Russell trails Antonelli by 43 points in the standings, with his teammate set to bring a four-race winning streak to the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
Perhaps the summer of George can begin then.
