Struggling against Kimi Antonelli and 59 points behind in the championship, George Russell sees his title chances greatly reduced by Günther Steiner.
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At mid-season, the fight for the world championship seems increasingly difficult for George Russell. Despite a Mercedes still capable of playing a leading role, the Briton now has a significant gap behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli, leader of the drivers’ standings. For Günther Steiner, a Russell title at the end of the year would now be almost a miracle.
The former Haas team principal believes that recent events have significantly reduced the Briton’s chances of winning his first world title.
A gap that is starting to weigh
Third in the championship, George Russell is now 59 points behind Antonelli after eleven rounds. A large gap, especially since his young teammate has shown impressive consistency since the start of the season.
While Russell has sometimes been outpaced by the Italian driver, he has also suffered many setbacks beyond his control. Reliability issues and several strokes of bad luck have cost him valuable points in a season where every detail matters.
Despite this, Günther Steiner believes the current momentum clearly favors Antonelli.
Guest on the Red Flags podcast, the Italian did not hide his pessimism when asked about Russell’s chances of turning the situation around.
“I would give him 5% chance.”
Hungary, another setback
The Hungarian Grand Prix illustrated the difficulties Russell has faced this season. After a solid qualifying, the Mercedes driver saw his race compromised right from the start.
At the start, his car went into anti-stall mode, leaving him almost stationary on the grid while the rest of the field took off. Russell then found himself pushed to the back of the pack before starting a long climb up to seventh place.
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Mercedes quickly acknowledged its responsibility in this technical incident, explaining that the problem came from the car and not the driver.
Steiner questions Mercedes’ responsibility
Even though the German team admitted the error, Günther Steiner questions Mercedes’ communication after the race.
“Mercedes admitted part of the responsibility. Did they do it to calm George or because the problem really came from the car? I don’t know.”
The former Haas boss believes, however, that Russell was mostly very lucky not to have his race ended in the first few meters.
“I think he was mostly very lucky not to be hit by another car. Being stationary so long on the front row could very easily have caused a big accident.”
A second half of the season under pressure
With several more Grands Prix to go, Russell is mathematically not out of the title race. Nevertheless, the Briton will have to quickly reverse the trend if he still wants to hope to catch up with Antonelli.
Beyond pure performance, Mercedes will also have to put an end to the many technical issues that have disrupted its season. Without impeccable reliability and a series of solid results, the gap could quickly become insurmountable.
For Steiner, the conclusion is therefore clear: barring an exceptional turnaround in the second half of the championship, George Russell seems to have let slip a large part of his chances of winning a first world crown in Formula 1.
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