Unlucky George Russell: Does the Mercedes veteran deserve the World Championship title?

Before the start of the season, George Russell was the clear favourite for the World Championship title – at least that was the view of the bookmakers, who gave the British driver from the Mercedes works team the best chance of winning the Formula 1 crown. And at the season opener at Albert Park, he lived up to all expectations by winning the race.

But since then, things haven’t gone to plan for the Briton, who has been dogged by bad luck. As early as the second race in China, he experienced problems with his car during qualifying, and technical issues later hampered him in Canada too, when he retired whilst leading the race. At the third race in Japan, it was the timing of the safety car that dashed his hopes of finishing higher than fourth. And in Monaco, he finished twelfth and came away empty-handed due to a penalty resulting from a measurement error, a mistake by his pit crew during his second stop, and the drive-through penalty he received as a result.

At least in Spain, fortune smiled on him, whilst his team-mate Kimi Antonelli – who had previously secured five consecutive Grand Prix victories and extended his lead in the World Championship – was the unlucky one. However, the race was won by Russell’s former team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. The Mercedes star had to settle for second place.

Claire Williams: Concern for George Russell

The 28-year-old’s fate has moved Claire Williams, who, as deputy team principal of the Williams team, witnessed Russell’s first Grand Prix appearances at close quarters. On the ‘High Performance’ podcast, the Englishwoman – who had announced at the start of the season that 2026 would be George Russell’s year – said: “I think I underestimated Kimi, but I reckon quite a few other people did too.”

And the 49-year-old insisted: “I really thought this was going to be George’s year. And we were talking about luck earlier. I genuinely believe that some people in Formula 1 are luckier than others. I’ve seen that first-hand at Williams for years. Whenever chance played a part – whether because of the weather or a safety car – Williams didn’t benefit. Others were luckier in those moments.”

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Williams emphasised that this had nothing to do with a wrong strategy or any other mistake. “It just never went our way. And I’m afraid the same will happen to George. I don’t think he lacks the necessary talent; he’s just had a bit of bad luck. And sometimes I worry that this sort of thing sticks to people. I really don’t want that, because I think he deserves the title.”