George Russell sends new message after Belgian Grand Prix DNF

Mercedes driver George Russell has vowed that he won’t “stop fighting” after his first-lap retirement at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Russell suffered his third non-score in six races at Spa after a collision with Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari on the opening lap.

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The British driver held third after the first few corners, but lost three positions on the Kemmel straight after an issue with battery deployment.

Russell made contact with Hamilton as he tried to pass the Ferrari around the outside at Les Combes, with the collision leaving him in the gravel.

With Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli going on to win the race to extend his lead in the drivers’ standings, Russell finds himself 50 points behind the Italian with 10 races completed.

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It marked the third time in the last six races that Russell has failed to score, coming after his retirement in Canada and a 12th-place finish in Monaco, where a penalty left him out of the points.

In a post to social media, Russell vowed that he will not give up after his title hopes suffered another major blow in Belgium.

He wrote: “Knocked down, we get back up. No matter how many times. So many tough moments this year but I will not stop fighting.”

Russell’s post comes after the 28-year-old was heard shouting over team radio in the aftermath of his retirement on Sunday.

He said: “I’m out! What the f**k happened with the SOC [state of charge] down the straight? I had no f**king battery down the straight!”

He added: “Guys! Unacceptable! Un-f**cking-acceptable!”

Russell told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after the race: “Numb to the disappointment now. When it happens so often, you just get used to it.

“For whatever reason, the battery decided not to recharge at Turn 1. I went around the first corner, the battery didn’t charge and I exited the first corner 35 per cent down.

“Because it didn’t charge, I also had a boost problem.

“The turbo didn’t sort itself out, so I had no power. I got to the top of Eau Rouge with zero per cent on the battery. Quite frankly, it was dangerous.

“I got swamped by three cars. Shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place and that’s why I’m most angry.

“The incident with Lewis, honestly, I think was a racing incident. He didn’t do anything reckless, it was just one of those things.

“I’m just most angry that I was in that position in the first place.

“I was in a great position out of Turn 1 and I was ready to fight the two guys ahead of me up to Turn 5.

“Instead, I get swamped by three drivers.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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