Starting seventh on the grid at Sepang, George Russell surged to second at the first corner, behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli, after choosing the right intermediate tyres for the damp track and making a rapid getaway. But the Mercedes driver ultimately lost a podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: a late power-unit failure forced him to retire. After the race, he described his misfortune as laughable.
The race had already swung against Russell. Max Verstappen passed him on lap six. The first safety-car period then gave Russell the chance to move back ahead of Antonelli around the outside of Turn 5 at the restart. The Briton climbed to second, but Antonelli reclaimed the position eight laps later.
A further safety car late in the race gave Russell another opportunity to challenge for victory. The failure, however, ended his hopes with only a few laps remaining. It was his third retirement of the season and his second caused solely by a technical problem.
“You’ve almost got to laugh,” he said. He described his feelings as going beyond disappointment and said the same kind of setback had happened repeatedly this season. The podium had looked “very certain” to him after what he called a solid, if not amazing, race. “Not the first time, so I’m pretty used to this feeling and these questions,” he added.
The setback also carried a championship cost. Russell said he needed luck on his side to make a comeback, but the failure turned a three-point deficit to Kimi into an 18-point loss. “Of course, it’s exceptionally unlikely,” he said of his chances, without declaring the title over. He nonetheless vowed to “keep on fighting”.
Toto Wolff also voiced his anger after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which he called one of his “worst experiences” personally. The Mercedes team principal said retirements could prove costly over the remaining seven races and stressed that they could not continue. But he added that the work of the group gave him reassurance: he believes they will find a solution and that the team will come back strong.
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Formula 1Toto Wolff said he was “massively annoyed” and “not in a happy place” after George Russell retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix. A power unit failure forced the Briton to pull over while he appeared on course for a podium.
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