George Russell says F1 championship pressure is off after tough season

George Russell insists the pressure is off in the battle for the Formula One drivers’ championship after a succession of mishaps this season – combined with the exemplary form of his Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli – left him 68 points off the pace.

Sunday’s round seven is the newly styled Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, with the Spanish Grand Prix shifting to a new venue in Madrid in September. Mercedes are expected to excel again this weekend, but it is the 19-year-old Antonelli who has established a firm grip on the drivers’ championship after five consecutive victories.

Russell’s latest misfortune arrived in Monaco last Sunday when he was one of five drivers penalised for speeding in the pit lane. That was magnified when his initial five-second penalty was incorrectly observed and he received a further drive-through punishment. Russell finished 12th as Antonelli delivered a flawless drive to extend his championship lead, while Lewis Hamilton moved into second for Ferrari.

“The pressure feels off,” Russell said on Thursday. “I’m going to try to enjoy every race, not even think about the championship: it’s so far out of reach. It’s just going to enjoy the races and have fun, drive fast, and do what I know I’m capable of doing. That’s what I’m excited for.”

Russell was more upbeat than after last Sunday’s travails, when he said he was “beyond frustration”. The 28-year-old led the Canadian GP last month but was forced to retire when his battery failed and also suffered costly bad luck at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix in March.

“It has been very tough,” Russell said of dealing with last week’s disappointment in particular. “But honestly, when I’ve sat down and thought about this season as a whole – if it was just a neutral season, I think I’d have had three more podiums, and it would have been five out of six races on the podium, maybe a couple of wins, two out of three sprint race victories.

“I’d probably be slightly behind Kimi, but the picture is totally different. Now I’m going to do every race to try to control the controllables. I can’t do anything about the engine breaking down, I can’t do anything about a bad safety car timing or this pit lane infringement situation. That is out of my control.”

Alpine were the only team to appeal against last week’s pit lane speeding penalties after Pierre Gasly was denied a place on the podium, and on Thursday two elements of their case were ruled admissible by the FIA, with a final decision expected on Friday.