A furious Toto Wolff admitted he was “massively annoyed” after George Russell’s late retirement from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia – adding that it was “one of his worst experiences.”
Mercedes looked well set for a double podium in a chaotic race, with Kimi Antonelli running in second and Russell in third amid a late safety car window.
However, out of nothing, Russell’s power unit failed on the main straight and – in scenes not dissimilar to Lewis Hamilton’s retirement at the same circuit 10 years ago – the Briton had his head in his hands as he was forced to retire.
It means Russell, suffering his third DNF of the season, is now 84 points behind his Mercedes teammate Antonelli in the championship race with just seven rounds remaining.
“I’m so massively annoyed, not in a happy place,” Wolff told Sky Sports afterwards.
“First of all, we didn’t have the speed we were looking for so a lot of homework to be done to recover, which I’m sure we will. The race behind went against us, two safety cars couldn’t be more unlucky and to make things worse, a PU [power unit] failure for George which is terrible for his championship and not good for our constructor points.
“As much as we like pure races, it’s one of my worst experiences to be honest.”
Wolff insisted the Mercedes mechanical failures “cannot continue” as they target a double world championship in the remaining two months of the season.
“Kimi has scored a few more points than Lewis [Hamilton] behind him, I’m happy he did the job,” Wolff said.
“This overarching topic of the DNFs which could cost us dearly for the remaining seven races. The championship is quickly turned around if you have a DNF, which is why this can’t continue.”
Russell was in a similarly despondent mood and almost lost for words as he saw his slim title chances slip away.
“You’ve almost got to laugh, I’m beyond disappointment,” he said. “So many times this season, it’s happened. It’s a real shame, but keep on fighting.
“The podium looked very certain, solid race, not amazing. It’s not the first time so I’m pretty used to this feeling and these questions.”
Russell, the favourite ahead of the season, now trails his teammate by 84 points heading into the Singapore Grand Prix next week.
On the title, Russell said: “I don’t need to say I think ‘it’s gone’ but of course it’s extremely likely.
“If I wanted to come back, I’d need luck on my side. Unfortunately, I’ve had no luck on my side. A three-point loss turns into an 18-point loss. If the shoe is on the other side, it’d have been an 18 point gain.
“A real shame – that’s just how it is.”
