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George Russell arrived in Japan as the championship leader and left it nine points behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli. The bad luck that has followed him across the first three weekends of the season struck again at Suzuka, and his frustration afterwards was barely contained.
A Race Defined by Misfortune
Russell started second but lost positions off the line and dropped to fourth before the race had properly begun. He worked his way back up, but the safety car triggered by the Bearman crash caught him at the wrong moment and he ultimately finished fourth, crossing the line behind Antonelli, Leclerc, and Norris. The championship lead he had held since the opening round was gone.
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"Every Problem Has Been on My Side"
He spoke to the media afterwards in measured terms, but the underlying frustration was clear. "In motorsport, sometimes things go your way and sometimes they do not. It feels like, over the past two weekends, every problem we have had has fallen on my side and I am the one who has to absorb the pain."
He expanded on that theme. "It has just worked out this way. I cannot really give a more detailed answer than that. Sometimes people have problems in practice, but we have not had a single problem in practice all season. I have only had problems in qualifying." The contrast he drew with Lando Norris was instructive. "Lando had no problems in qualifying but had all his problems in practice. It is just a matter of luck with these new cars."
He Is Certain He Could Have Won
The most pointed part of Russell's post-race assessment was his view on what a clean weekend would have produced. "Not at all. With three setbacks across 22 races and one lap's difference today, I could have taken the win and I am very certain of that. In China, without the qualifying problem, I was three tenths faster in the sprint qualifying, so maybe I could have taken pole there and won the race."
He is not panicking about the championship picture. "That is just how motorsport goes. We now have a four-week break, so there is no momentum to carry. Just reset and go again for the next race." Nineteen races remain. The advantage Mercedes have over the rest of the grid means Russell only needs things to stop going wrong. On current pace, a clean run of weekends should be enough.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
I. Hadjar
A. Antonelli
C. Leclerc
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