George Russell frustrated as ‘all the issues’ hit his side in title fight

George Russell admits frustration is mounting as ‘all the issues’ hit his side of the garage, costing him the World Championship lead to Kimi Antonelli.

Russell’s walk to the 2026 title may not be as straightforward as initially believed after back-to-back wins for his team-mate put the young Italian in the lead.

George Russell frustrated by issues in title fight

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Russell’s experience over Antonelli, combined with the dominance of the W17, had the Briton as the clear favourite for the title, but challenging weekends, first in Shanghai and now Suzuka, have given the advantage to his team-mate.

Looking back on the Japanese Grand Prix, Russell suggested that all the issues Mercedes were facing were currently falling on him.

“I’m not feeling too lucky. This is racing. Over the course of a year, sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s annoying that I missed out on the podium because at the safety-car restart I couldn’t charge my battery, so we got overtaken by Lewis [Hamilton]. And then another problem with Charles [Leclerc], with the battery.

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“It’s still very complicated, these cars, it’s still very early, and you have to make these mistakes to learn.

“But it feels like at the moment all the issues are coming on my side, so that is pretty frustrating, to be honest.”

Russell was particularly unlucky with the timing of a safety car in Japan which came out one lap after he had pitted and gifted team-mate Antonelli a quicker stop.

In a video posted to Mercedes social media, Russell was seen debriefing with Toto Wolff and suggested that lap was key to his whole day.

“One lap later for that pit stop, and probably we’re here talking about what a great day. So it’s swings and roundabouts, it’s gonna come at some point.

“Then all the other little niggles we had after, like the battery not charging at the safety car restart, and then the thing with Charles, when we had that glitch with the software, and just like somebody from above was not gonna let us.

“I think both Kimi and I struggled to get through people at the beginning of the race, didn’t we? And then at the end, it was not easy at all. Anyway, could have been a much worse.”

Read next: Kimi Antonelli leads winners and losers as Japanese Grand Prix shifts momentum

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