George Russell has announced he is no longer thinking about the Formula One drivers’ championship, which is convenient because the championship stopped thinking about him several races ago.
A string of mishaps, combined with the relentless form of his 19-year-old Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, has left Russell 68 points adrift. Antonelli, who appears to have mistaken the F1 season for a solo victory lap, has won five consecutive races.
Sunday’s round seven is the newly styled Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, though the Spanish Grand Prix will decamp to Madrid in September. Mercedes are expected to be strong again, though that probably means Antonelli will be strong while Russell watches from the middle of the pack.
Russell’s latest misfortune came in Monaco, where he was one of five drivers penalised for pit-lane speeding. His initial five-second penalty was incorrectly observed, resulting in an additional drive-through punishment. He finished 12th while Antonelli extended his lead and Lewis Hamilton moved into second for Ferrari.
“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.” He added that he plans to “drive fast and do what I know I’m capable of doing,” which presumably does not include winning a title this year.
Russell was more upbeat than after Sunday’s race, when he described himself as “beyond frustration.” The 28-year-old led the Canadian GP last month but retired when his battery failed, and also suffered 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, maybe a couple of wins.” He noted that he’d probably be “slightly behind Kimi” anyway, which is a bit like saying you’d probably be slightly behind Usain Bolt in a sprint.
Meanwhile, Alpine are appealing the pit-lane speeding penalties after Pierre Gasly was denied a podium in Monaco. The FIA ruled two elements of their case admissible, with a final decision expected Friday. Gasly described losing third as “the hardest day I’ve had in F1 and in my sport career,” which given the evidence of inaccurate speed measurements, may yet be reversed.
In other news, the FIA have confirmed that Pirelli will remain the single tyre supplier for Formula One until 2028, ensuring that teams will continue to complain about tyre degradation for at least three more seasons.