George Russell is “beyond disappointment” after a power-unit failure forced him to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia five laps from the finish on Sunday.
The Mercedes driver had been running third behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen when his car stopped.
The retirement cost Russell a likely podium and dealt another blow to his championship hopes, with Antonelli extending his lead to 84 points.
Russell was left to reflect on another mechanical setback in a season that has tested his patience.
“You’ve almost got to laugh. I’m beyond disappointment. It’s just so many times this season it’s happened,” he explained.
“It’s a real shame, but we just keep on fighting. Just keep on trying to go.
“The podium 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.”
George Russell is “beyond disappointment” after a power-unit failure forced him to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia five laps from the finish on Sunday
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The Briton had looked on course to finish on the podium after a steady race, despite Mercedes lacking the pace it had hoped to find.
A dramatic afternoon had already featured rain, changing tyre strategies and multiple Safety Car interruptions before Russell’s late exit.
Toto Wolff confirmed the retirement was caused by a power-unit failure, and said it was not related to the Safety Car.
Toto Wolff admitted he was ‘massively annoyed’ after Mercedes endured a mixed Bahrain GP
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Speaking to Sky Sports, the Mercedes team principal described the result as one of his worst experiences at the circuit.
“It’s a power unit failure (for Russell). It wasn’t caused by the Safety Car. We haven’t assessed it yet,” he said.
“I’m so massively annoyed, and not in a happy place.
“First of all, 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, if you consider the fight with Lewis behind, went against us.
“We had such an advantage, one VSC, two Safety Cars, you couldn’t be more unlucky.
George Russell has lost more ground to Kimi Antonelli in the race for the F1 title
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“And to make things worse, a PU failure with a few laps to go until the end for George, which is terrible for his championship and not good at all for our constructors’ points.
“So, as much as I love to be here when I look at the pure races, one of my worst experiences, to be honest.”
While Verstappen celebrated Red Bull’s first win of the season, Russell’s retirement turned the championship picture further in Antonelli’s favour.
The young Italian finished second and now holds a commanding advantage over his team-mate as the season enters its final stretch.
