– George Russell’s retirement in Canada not only robbed Formula 1 fans of an exciting duel between the two Mercedes drivers, but also dealt the Englishman a severe setback in the championship fight. But even if he was “speechless” at first, Russell got over his retirement quite quickly.
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“It didn’t take that long to digest the result because ultimately it was out of my control,” says the Mercedes driver ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 race in Monaco. “I traveled to Canada with a single goal: to be at the top in every single session. That was an important goal, and that’s exactly what I achieved.”
Russell is at peace with his performance in Canada: “I was on pole in both qualifying sessions, won the sprint, led the race and had a good fight with Kimi. I was in the lead before the defect occurred. I felt like I couldn’t have done more in Canada, so ultimately I achieved what I set out to do.”
“As for the rest: that’s part of racing,” he says.
All World Champions had bad luck at some point
For him, the technical retirement in Montreal was simply bad luck. As a result, the Brit is now already 43 points behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who has won all of the last four Grands Prix.
But Russell is not deterred by this. He says: “If you look at anyone’s world titles in Formula 1 or any other series, I don’t think there has ever been anyone in history who didn’t have bad luck at some point.”
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For him, a look back at last year is enough, when Lando Norris also retired with a defect in Zandvoort and already looked like the championship loser, or was disqualified in Las Vegas. “That was out of his control,” Russell knows.
“Verstappen had the tire damage in Baku in 2021, and one could probably say that in the crash at Silverstone (with Lewis Hamilton; editor’s note) both could have retired. In the end, he retired and his rival won the race. Such things have always happened in motorsport.”
Therefore, he believes that Antonelli will also experience bad luck at some point this season. “That’s how the game goes, and I’m not letting it drive me crazy.”
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Engine broken: Is a grid penalty looming?
However, the retirement in Canada has brought with it further side effects: According to Mercedes, the engine was severely damaged and the exact cause may not be known for several months.
“The battery was so severely damaged that it had to be transported home by sea freight,” Russell confirms. “It couldn’t be flown, so we won’t be able to properly examine it until it’s back.”
“I can’t imagine a freighter trip from Canada is the shortest trip, so yes, that will take a few months.”
In Monaco, Russell will have to drive with new engine parts – for the engine and battery, these would be the third of four allowed. In the worst case, he faces a grid penalty at the end of the season (for an overview of engine parts 2026).
But Russell waves it off: “There was a lot of damage, but nothing that means we should get a grid penalty or that it will cost us performance anywhere in the future.”
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“The guys in Brixworth are the best in the business, and have been for 15, 20 years now – so we’ll get this under control.”
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