Mercedes driver George Russell labelled his misfortune as laughable following Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, where a power unit failure cost him a podium finish late on. Russell was a lowly seventh on the grid at Sepang, but the correct choice of intermediate tyres on a damp track and a lightning getaway saw him surge to second into Turn 1, behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell was however passed by Max Verstappen as early as lap six, but the first safety car period gave him a chance to sweep past Antonelli around the outside of Turn 5 at the restart as the race leader dropped down to third – though the Italian youngster found a way back into second place just eight laps later. Further drama did not disrupt the status quo in the top three, but a late safety car meant Russell had a chance to challenge his rivals for victory. However, the chance never came as a power unit failure took him out of the race before the final restart.
“You've almost got to laugh,” Russell told Sky Sports F1 after his third retirement this season – his second purely technical DNF. “It's beyond disappointment. It's just, so many times this season it's happened. Of course, it's a real shame, but… Just keep on fighting. Just keep on trying to go.” As he said, Russell will “keep on fighting”, but is equally aware of his deficit to championship rival Antonelli reaching an unprecedented 84 points.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the Bahrain GP in Malaysia had been one of his “worst experiences” personally, as Red Bull claimed its first victory of the year over the Silver Arrows and Russell suffered that setback. “I'm so massively annoyed,” Wolff told Sky. “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.”
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing