Russell believes he ‘probably’ would have won in Japan

George Russell expressed significant frustration following the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished fourth while his Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, secured his second consecutive victory. Russell, who believes he was on track for a race win, saw his chances evaporate due to poorly timed Safety Car intervention immediately following his pit stop. Despite battling for the lead earlier in the race, the misfortune allowed Antonelli to capitalize on a free pit stop, ultimately shifting the balance of the race in the young driver's favor. Adding to his woes, Russell faced technical issues, including battery harvesting limitations during the race restart, which cost him positions to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Reflecting on the weekend, Russell lamented that everything that could go wrong did, leaving him nine points behind Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship standings as the series heads to Miami.