George Russell admitted Mercedes were “not good enough” after a nightmare Belgian Grand Prix saw his race end on the opening lap following a collision with Lewis Hamilton that dealt a significant blow to his Formula One title hopes.
The British driver endured a miserable afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps as team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli stormed to victory, extending his advantage at the top of the standings to 50 points.
Russell had arrived in Belgium hoping to continue eating into Antonelli’s lead after making up ground over recent races.
Instead, the weekend unravelled in dramatic fashion, with the 28-year-old failing to complete a single lap.
Starting from third on the grid, Russell was immediately on the back foot after suffering an unexplained loss of battery power on the run out of La Source.
That left him vulnerable on the long Kemmel Straight, where Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Hamilton swept past before Russell attempted to fight back into Les Combes.
The Mercedes driver tried to reclaim position around the outside of Hamilton under braking, but the pair made contact through the opening sequence of corners.
Russell was pitched into the gravel trap and his race was over within seconds.
George Russell admitted Mercedes were “not good enough” after a nightmare Belgian Grand Prix saw his race end on the opening lap following a collision with Lewis Hamilton that dealt a significant blow to his Formula One title hopes
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Hamilton continued after the incident but was later handed a five-second time penalty by the stewards.
The seven-time world champion ultimately recovered to finish fourth, a result that lifted him above Russell into second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Antonelli, meanwhile, recovered from losing the lead during a virtual safety car period to overhaul Leclerc and claim his sixth victory in 10 races, while Max Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull.
Reflecting on his early exit, Russell refused to point the finger at Hamilton and instead admitted Mercedes had fallen well below the standard required to compete for victories.
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“It all started from the build up,” Russell explained.
“I came out of Turn 1, for whatever reason I was 30 per cent-40 per cent down on my battery and I just got totally swamped by three cars.
“The incident with Lewis, I’ve not really seen it. I thought it was probably a racing incident. I’m not going to blame Lewis.
“If things were normal, I wouldn’t have been battling with Lewis, I would have been battling with Kimi and Max ahead.”
Russell also revealed his growing frustration after another weekend in which Mercedes failed to give him the tools to challenge at the front.
Having started the Belgian Grand Prix weekend 25 points behind Antonelli, the Briton leaves Spa facing a far steeper climb after dropping to third in the standings behind Hamilton.
George Russell crashed with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap
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The disappointing result came after Russell struggled throughout the weekend with a straight-line speed deficit compared to Antonelli, who looked the stronger Mercedes driver from the outset.
Asked to sum up another frustrating weekend, Russell delivered a brutally honest assessment.
“It’s one thing after another, after another, after another,” he said.
“Not good enough on all regards. Try and reset again, done it enough times this season and see what we can do.”
