George Russell said he feels “the gods don’t want me to be in this fight” after he was forced to retire from the Canadian Grand Prix following a pulsating battle with race-winning title rival Kimi Antonelli.
The British driver and his young Mercedes team-mate exchanged the lead several times throughout a dramatic opening 30 laps, as they again came together a day on from banging wheels in Saturday’s sprint.
But Russell suffered an electrical issue when leading on lap 30, bumping across the grass before coming to a halt as he threw his headrest, slammed the car and then watched on as it was pushed away and the repercussions began to hit home.
Antonelli’s fourth win in a row stretches his title lead to 43 points over Russell after five rounds of the championship.
RUSSELL OUT ❌
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 24, 2026
Heading onboard as George Russell gets out of his stricken Mercedes ⬇️#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/cKzyCh0hgA
Russell feels the pressure is now off him in the title scrap and reflected on misfortune he also felt cost him in China and Japan.
“Right now it’s (Antonelli’s) to lose,” Russell said.
“So many points ahead, it feels like the gods don’t want me to be in this fight.
“The pressure is off, I’ll go out and enjoy every single race, try and win every single race and I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I don’t want to be stood here talking like that and of course I’m frustrated and want to be in that fight… hopefully the luck turns.”
Russell and Antonelli clashed during Saturday’s sprint, the Italian furiously accusing his team-mate of a “very naughty” move to push him off track, in the first major flashpoint of their title battle.
They resumed their tussle in Sunday’s race after Russell dropped from first to third by the first corner, Lando Norris claiming the lead with Antonelli second.
Norris pitted after two laps, owing to McLaren’s decision to start on intermediate tyres, clearing the way for Antonelli and Russell to slug it out.
Several exchanges of the lead ensued as they went wheel-to-wheel multiple times, most dramatically on lap 25 when Antonelli charged down the outside and contact was made as the Italian was forced to cut the chicane.
Lewis' Grand Prix best result for @ScuderiaFerrari 👏#FIA #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/LqPF1DWG3P
— FIA (@fia) May 24, 2026
For the second day running, Antonelli accused his rival of “pushing him off”, but was told to hand the place back and did so, before he soon profited from Russell’s misfortune.
“It was very close and the (car failure) was a shame for him as it would have been a very cool battle. But we will take it, another win,” Antonelli said.
“It was nice to end the weekend well, not really the way I wanted to win, it was a close fight and I think it would have gone down right until the end.
“Couple of times it was maybe a little bit on the edge but we were going at each other, we were pushing and we both wanted to win.”
Lewis Hamilton overcame old foe Max Verstappen in the closing stages to finish second – his best result for Ferrari – with the Dutchman securing a first podium of the season.
