Mercedes driver George Russell labelled his misfortune as laughable following Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, where a power unit failure cost him a podium finish late on.
Russell was a lowly seventh on the grid at Sepang, but the correct choice of intermediate tyres on a damp track and a lightning getaway saw him surge to second into Turn 1, behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell was however passed by Max Verstappen as early as lap six, but the first safety car period gave him a chance to sweep past Antonelli around the outside of Turn 5 at the restart as the race leader dropped down to third – though the Italian youngster found a way back into second place just eight laps later.
Further drama did not disrupt the status quo in the top three, but a late safety car meant Russell had a chance to challenge his rivals for victory. He did not get to, as a power unit failure took him out of the race before the final restart.
“I mean, you've almost got to laugh,” Russell told Sky Sports F1 after his third retirement this season – his second purely technical DNF. “It's beyond disappointment. It's just, so many times this season it's happened.
“Of course, it's a real shame, but… Just keep on fighting. Just keep on trying to go.
“The podium, of course, looked very certain. Solid race, not amazing race, but solid race.
“Not the first time, so I'm pretty used to this feeling and these questions, let's say.”
As he said, Russell will “keep on fighting”, but is equally aware of his deficit to championship rival Antonelli reaching an unprecedented 84 points.
The Briton steered clear of any sensational comments – he won’t say the title is out of reach – but his assessment is bleak nonetheless.
“I don't need to say I think it's gone or whatever,” he added. “But, of course, it’s exceptionally unlikely, and that's just the reality.
“I knew if I wanted to come back I needed luck on my side. Unfortunately, I've had luck not on my side. So, you know, a three-point loss today being behind Kimi turned into an 18-point loss. Of course, if the issue was on the other side, it would have been an 18-point gain.
“So, yeah, it's a real shame. It's a real shame, but that's just how it is.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the Bahrain GP in Malaysia had been one of his “worst experiences” personally, as Red Bull claimed its first victory of the year over the Silver Arrows and Russell suffered that setback.
“I'm so massively annoyed,” Wolff told Sky. “I'm not in a happy place.
“We didn't have the speed that we were hoping to have before the weekend, so there's a lot of homework to be done in order to recover, which I'm sure we will. Then the race literally went, if you consider the fight with Lewis [Hamilton] behind, went against us. We had such an advantage, one VSC, two safety cars. I mean, you couldn't be more unlucky. And to make things worse, PU failure with a few laps to go to the end with George, which is terrible for his championship and not good at all for our constructor points.”
After praising Antonelli for ‘doing the job’, the Austrian added: “It's just this overarching topic, the DNFs, that could cost us dearly also for the remaining seven races. A championship is quickly turned around against you or for you if you have a DNF, and that's why that can't continue.”
Perhaps Wolff was overdramatic there. At Sepang, Mercedes was outscored by Ferrari for just the first time since the summer break, and the Scuderia still is 151 points in arrears in the constructors’ championship. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s deficit to Antonelli in the drivers’ standings is up to 106 points.
Asked how to pull the team together after such a result, Wolff replied: “I think we have a good action plan. James [Allison, technical director] is really fully on top of it with his leadership team.
“That lifts my mood because I know we have such a tremendous group of people. In the same way as we have with HPP, they're going to sort it out. But that gives me real relief for the moment to know they are the best and they are going to find a solution. And I think we will come back strong.”
