George Russell is no longer talking about the 2026 Formula 1 world championship. After finishing fifth at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver admitted his chances are slim. "I'm not going to say it's over, but it's exceptionally unlikely that I'm in this fight," he said. He now trails teammate Kimi Antonelli by 81 points, with the Italian continuing to impress.
At the new Madring circuit, Russell could only qualify sixth. He explained, "I tried pushing hard in Turn 11, but the tyres couldn't take it." The poor qualifying made his race difficult from the start. Although he made contact with Oscar Piastri early on, he escaped damage. However, bad luck struck when the virtual safety car came out early. Russell and Fernando Alonso were the only drivers to pit under the VSC, forcing Russell into an extra stop. "Just very frustrating timing," he lamented. He had to switch back to his preferred hard tyres, while his rivals gained an advantage.
Charles Leclerc, who was running ahead of Russell, stayed out and pitted on lap 48. Despite this, Russell was able to pressure him late in the race. Leclerc narrowly held on to fourth, with Russell fifth. "The hard was by far my most superior tyre," Russell explained. "It would have been a big gamble to have stayed out on the medium. I thought I had nothing to lose. In the end, I think I would have ended up where I ended up anyway." He added that the track is very difficult to overtake on, like Monaco, where qualifying is everything.
Meanwhile, Antonelli continues to show remarkable consistency. His win in Spain was his eighth of the season and his 12th podium in 14 races. His lead over Russell has ballooned from 25 to 81 points over the last five rounds. With nine races remaining, Russell knows that his rival's consistency leaves him with little room. "I'm not even thinking about being in the fight because I don't think I am in the fight," he admitted. "It almost just allows me to focus race by race and just try and win as many as possible. What will be, will be."
Despite the poor result, Russell insisted that his performance in Madrid was better than it looked. "But this was kind of Monaco-esque, in terms of qualifying being everything," he added. Now, he must accept the bitter reality that the 2026 title is slipping away. Kimi Antonelli seems to be strengthening his grip on the championship, and Russell can only hope for a miracle in the remaining races.
Baca Juga
Kimi Antonelli menang lagi di GP Spanyol 2026, sementara Lando Norris kehilangan kemenangan akibat VSC. Hamilton DNF, McLaren terpuruk. Simak ulasan lengkapnya.
Charles Leclerc finis keempat di GP Spanyol setelah berharap keajaiban Safety Car yang tak kunjung datang. Ferrari masih tertinggal di kualifikasi, menjadi fokus perbaikan utama.
Nico Rosberg menilai Carlos Sainz harus bertanggung jawab atas minimnya overtaking di sirkuit Madring. Kritik pedas mantan juara dunia F1 ini menyoroti peran Sainz sebagai ambassador.
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