George Russell ‘beyond frustration’ after Monaco penalty nightmare costs Mercedes podium
George Russell fell from the podium to outside the points with a late drive-through penalty in Monaco.
George Russell has said he is “beyond frustration” with how his season is panning out so far, after finishing outside the points while Kimi Antonelli notched a fifth win in a row in Monaco.
An unserved five-second penalty in the pits late in the race for earlier speeding in the pit lane saw Russell handed a drive-through penalty after a late restart, which dropped him from podium contention into the minor placings.
George Russell frustration after Monaco penalties as Kimi Antonelli wins again
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Antonelli’s victories in Monaco and Canada alongside Russell’s retirement in Montréal and travails in Monaco means his Mercedes teammate has now scored 50 unanswered points in the last two race weekends, with the young Italian’s advantage over the Briton stretching to 68 points in the standings, alongside Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton having now moved into second in the Drivers’ standings.
Having been told by Mercedes he was not at fault for his initial pit lane speeding penalty, Russell was left bemused at how the 2026 campaign is unfolding at this early stage.
“I mean, I’m beyond frustration now, just struggling to comprehend how on earth the season is panning out this way,” Russell told PlanetF1.com and others in Monaco.
“The team said there was nothing I did wrong with the speeding in the pit lane, a software issue, we don’t know where from, five-second penalty – not ideal, but not the end of the world. And then obviously a drive-through for not serving it properly when I was in P3. So, two weekends in a row, 40 points [lost].
Looking back at that run of fortune so far this season, Russell admitted his head is in a “very weird” place given the way results have escaped him in 2026, admitting it’s “very painful” to have the performance available but not making the most of it.
While acknowledging the “amazing job” Antonelli has put in this year, he believes he would have appeared on the top step of the podium more often with a cleaner run.
Asked if this is the lowest point of his career so far, Russell replied: “No. I’m in a very, very weird state of mind, because I’ve had very low moments in my career where I’ve maybe had a run of two bad races or three bad races on my own personal performance. I’ve never had a run of bad luck as such like this.
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“It didn’t happen when the car was a P7 car two years ago or a P4 or P3 car last year. Now I’ve got the car, it feels very painful, but there’s a long way to go.
“I still very much believe in myself. I still believe we’re going to be fighting for race wins from the end of this year. There’s no reason why we won’t be continuing into next year, but right now it’s tough.
“When I look at things objectively, things are balanced out a little bit more. I still think it will have been very, very close, and he’s been doing an amazing job, but I think I’d have at least two more victories to my name.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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