Russell frustrated by a run of issues

George Russell says he is "going through pain" after back-to-back difficult weekends in Asia, with Mercedes problems repeatedly landing on his side of the garage.

In Japan, Russell finished fourth as team-mate Kimi Antonelli won the grand prix, and the result also cost the Briton his lead in the drivers’ championship to the teenager.

Russell’s weekend never quite settled. The W17 looked strong in practice, but qualifying told a different story, leaving him second on the grid behind Antonelli. It was a familiar pattern after China, where Russell again appeared to have the edge between Mercedes drivers until a technical issue stopped him on track in Q3. A late final lap got him second there as well, once again behind Antonelli.

Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Russell said the recent run of problems has simply fallen his way in the worst possible manner.

"It just feels like, at the moment, these last two weekends, every issue we're having is on my side, and I'm the one to go through that pain. It’s just how it's panned out, really. I can’t give you more than that."

He added that the variation in where problems show up is part of life with the new generation of cars.

"It’s like sometimes people are having problems in practice. We've not had a single issue in practice this whole season.

"I’ve had the problems in qualifying. Lando [Norris] hasn’t had problems in qualifying, he's had all the problems in practice.

"So it's just luck of the draw with these new cars. But it's race three of 22 - I’m not concerned at all. It's a long year.

"I know we’ve got what it takes to bounce back and not dwell on it."

Russell blames timing in the race

Russell also felt his race in Japan turned on a single unlucky call. He was fighting McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the lead before making an early pit stop.

Not long after he came in, Oliver Bearman crashed heavily, triggering a safety car and giving several drivers, including Antonelli, the chance for a cheap stop. That sequence left Russell and Antonelli at the front, but it did not leave Russell feeling especially blessed by the racing gods.

"I don't really know why I pitted at that point. I think it was because Charles was coming," Russell said. "But what can you do? That is pure luck. If that had been one lap later, we'd have won the race.

"If there had been no crash, maybe we would have regretted not pitting at that point.

"In racing, sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you."

For now, Russell is left with a fourth-place finish, another dose of Mercedes-related frustration, and the cheerful reminder that the season is still very young. Unhelpful, perhaps, but technically true.