George Russell adamant he is still in title fight despite Monaco woes
George Russell insists he “100 per cent” remains in the world championship fight despite dropping more points to title rival Kimi Antonelli at Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
A fortnight after a Mercedes mechanical failure thwarted a probable victory in Canada, Russell was forced to rue more bad luck in the principality.
Russell said a software glitch contributed to him speeding in the pit lane when he stopped for tyres.
Russell attempted to take the five-second sanction when he pitted during a safety car period, but his mechanics began servicing his car before the punishment had been served.
That resulted in a drive-through penalty for Russell which dropped him from third to 13th and out of the points.
Russell might have scored 40 combined points in Canada and Monaco but he left both races empty handed and is now 68 points behind Antonelli – the equivalent of almost three wins – as the Italian raced to his fifth straight victory.
But when asked if he still believes he can take the championship fight to his younger team-mate, Russell replied: “Yes, for sure. One hundred per cent.
“The season has been disjointed but I still know what I can do. We are not even 30 per cent of the way through the season.
“There have been a lot of points that have gone the drain. And it has not been very enjoyable. I am in a very weird state of mind. I have had low moments in my career where I have had two or three bad races on my own personal performance, but I have never had a run of bad luck like this.
“It didn’t happen when the car was a P7 car, two or three years ago, and now I have got the car (to win the world championship), it is very painful, but there is a long way to go.
“I still very much believe in myself and that we are going to be fighting for wins this season and that continuing into next year, but right now it is tough.”
Russell delivered on his status as the bookmakers’ favourite to land his maiden crown with victory in Australia.
But he was struck down by technical gremlins in qualifying in China as Antonelli claimed his first win.
The 19-year-old then took advantage of a safety car to win the next round in Japan and dominated in Miami.
Russell bounced back with pole in Canada, only to see his engine expire in the race, before his latest setback in Monaco.
He continued: “I wish I could take responsibility for the car breaking down in Canada, or the penalties today, but it has been completely outside of my control and that is an incredibly difficult pill to swallow.
“I don’t believe in bad or good luck but when I look at the season as a whole, I was leading the race in Canada and I broke down, I could have been on the podium today, zero points, I led the race in Japan and the safety car came out 10 seconds after my pit stop.
“The whole season could look totally different, and now I am 68 points off the lead. It is beyond frustration now.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub