George Russell has admitted the Formula One drivers' championship is effectively out of reach after a series of setbacks and the dominant form of his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who now leads the standings by 68 points. The 28-year-old Briton heads into this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with a more relaxed mindset, insisting the pressure has lifted.
Russell's latest misfortune came in Monaco, where he was penalised for speeding in the pit lane and later received a drive-through penalty after incorrectly serving his initial five-second sanction. He finished 12th, while Antonelli claimed his fifth consecutive victory and Lewis Hamilton moved into second for Ferrari. The result extended Antonelli's championship lead and left Russell reflecting on a season of missed opportunities.
“The pressure feels off,” Russell said on Thursday. “I’m going to try to enjoy every race, not even think about the championship: it’s so far out of reach. It’s just going to enjoy the races and have fun, drive fast and do what I know I’m capable of doing.” The Mercedes driver had earlier described his Monaco disappointment as “beyond frustration”, but has since adopted a more philosophical outlook.
Russell pointed to a string of incidents beyond his control, including a battery failure while leading in Canada and costly bad luck in China and Japan. “It has been very tough,” he said. “But if it was just a neutral season, I think I’d have had three more podiums and it would have been five out of six races on the podium. Now I’m going to do every race to try to control the controllables.”
Elsewhere, Alpine's appeal against Pierre Gasly's pit lane speeding penalty in Monaco has been partially upheld by the FIA, with a final decision expected on Friday. Gasly described losing third place as “the hardest day I’ve had in F1”. Meanwhile, the FIA has confirmed that Pirelli will remain the sole tyre supplier for Formula One until 2028.
