George Russell says the Formula 1 world championship is now Kimi Antonelli’s to lose as his Mercedes team-mate profited from the Brit’s retirement in Canada to open up a 43-point lead after five rounds.
Russell and Antonelli were involved in a thrilling battle for first place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday – until the former suffered a power unit issue on lap 30 while leading.
Antonelli went on to secure his fourth straight Grand Prix victory, after triumphs in China, Japan and Miami.
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Watch the moment a power unit failure forced Russell to retire in Montrea
Russell, who won the opening race of the season in Australia, will look to reduce Antonelli’s lead at the Monaco Grand Prix on June 7.
He told Sky Italy: “It feels like it is [Antonelli’s championship] to lose now.”
Russell added to Sky Sports F1: “I’m proud of my weekend. Pole in the Sprint, won the Sprint, pole in Qualifying, I was leading when I stopped. I had a good battle with Kimi.
“I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend. I will leave satisfied. I’m pretty damn frustrated with what happened but what more can I do?”
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Antonelli lost the race lead as he locked up and nearly collided with Russell in Canada
Russell: I can’t seem to catch a break!
Russell – who insisted he relished his tussle with Antonelli, saying it reminded him of his old karting days – feels he is currently lacking “lady luck” in his rivalry with the Italian.
The 28-year-old referenced:
– The deployment of a Safety Car at the Japanese Grand Prix which gave Antonelli a cheaper pit stop and put him ahead of Russell.
– Russell suffering an issue in Q3 at the Chinese Grand Prix which limited him to only one run in the final part of Qualifying.
– A red flag in Q1 at the Australian Grand Prix giving Mercedes more time to fix the car Antonelli had crashed in practice, allowing the 19-year-old to post a lap and eventually qualify second, behind Russell.
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Toto Wolff says he ‘half enjoyed’ watching the Mercedes drivers battle in a bittersweet race where Russell retired and Antonelli claimed victory
Russell added: “I can’t seem to catch a break!
“I would have loved for this [power unit failure] to happen in Miami when I was sixth, not here in Montreal leading. Or the Safety Car in Japan coming out one lap before it did.
“[There was] the failure in Qualifying in China. Even in Melbourne, without that red flag in Q1, Kimi would have started last. Something’s not going my way at the moment.
“I don’t wish any bad luck on anybody. I just want to fight hard and fight fair. We have equal opportunity but right now lady luck is not on my side.”
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Full highlights from the Canadian Grand Prix, which Antonelli won ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mex Verstappen
Antonelli determined to ‘keep raising bar’
Speaking after his win, championship leader Antonelli said he was determined to “keep raising the bar” as he looks to hold off challenges from Russell and the chasing pack.
Antonelli said: “I’m not thinking about the championship. I think it’s still very, very early to talk about that. I’m just focusing on race by race.
“The [points] gap doesn’t mean that I can relax and just take it easier. Instead, I need to keep raising the bar because it’s not going to be easy. Competitors are getting closer.
“Also, George is super, super quick. So definitely I’m just going to focus on myself, enjoy the driving and try to drive as fast as possible.”
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Antonelli reflects on his victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Wolff ‘half enjoyed’ Antonelli-Russell tussle
Russell and Antonelli’s gripping duel came after they had collided during Russell’s victory in Saturday’s Sprint, a scuffle which ultimately allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to split the two Mercedes in that shorter race.
Antonelli subsequently said he and Russell had been told they could race each other but to do it “smarter” in future, so how did team principal Toto Wolff view Sunday’s battle?
The Austrian told Sky Sports F1: “We half enjoyed watching how they fought it out.
“Every time we thought about saying, ‘we have had enough for the moment’, the next two laps were fast again.
“As long as we maintained that gap, it was okay watching it, but it can obviously go wrong. If it was closer behind us, we would jump in.”
Next up is the start of F1’s European summer swing, with the Monaco Grand Prix the first of six races in eight weeks. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from June 5-7. Stream Sky Sports with NOW.
