George Russell was caught out by the timing of the Safety Car shortly after his pit stop during the Japanese Grand Prix. The situation ultimately favored Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while the British driver did not quite have the same race pace as his teammate. Even the chosen setup did not prove decisive, as graining never became an issue during the race.
The dark side of the moon brought worldwide success to Pink Floyd. George Russell, also British like the legendary band that shaped progressive rock music since the 1970s, will be hoping that this start to the season is simply a phase of bad luck, and that from Miami onwards his brighter side will finally emerge.
After a solid start to the Japanese Grand Prix, George Russell found himself as the only realistic challenger to Oscar Piastri during the opening stint. On lap 21, the Mercedes driver came into the pits to switch from Medium to Hard tyres, but just one lap later the Safety Car was deployed to allow marshals to clear the crashed Haas VF-26 at Spoon corner.
At that moment, Andrea Kimi Antonelli played his wildcard perfectly. Having not yet made his pit stop, the Italian driver took full advantage of the neutralization to switch to Hard tyres, and from that point onwards, the race was effectively decided. Rejoining in the lead, Antonelli managed the restart flawlessly and, thanks to an incredible pace, secured his second career victory after his win in China just two weeks earlier.
Russell, who eventually finished fourth after failing to break Charles Leclerc’s strong defense for third place, could only reflect on what might have been. His words clearly reveal frustration over the Safety Car intervention, which disrupted his race strategy.
“The start was normal. Poor. With one lap difference in the Safety Car timing, I would have won the race. That’s racing, but after that it was just one problem after another. I couldn’t recharge the battery at the restart, so Lewis passed me. And later in the race, I had another battery issue and Leclerc passed me as well. I didn’t have the speed and he overtook me. It was just one issue after another.”
“I don’t really know why I pitted at that moment. I think it was because Charles was catching me. But it was just bad luck. If there hadn’t been the accident, maybe we would have regretted not stopping at that time. In racing, sometimes things go your way, other times they don’t. Right now, over the last two weekends, it just feels like every problem has been on my side.”
“That’s just how things went. I don’t have better answers. I had no issues in practice or qualifying, but I had them in the race. Lando had no issues in qualifying but had them in practice. It’s just about luck with these new cars. It’s only the third race out of 22, I’m not worried at all and I know I have everything to bounce back.”
Russell points to moments of bad luck, and there is certainly some truth to that, as without the Safety Car he would likely have been fighting for victory. However, both Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli would have been extremely tough opponents to beat. In fact, the British driver was unable to attack the McLaren number 81 during the second stint and was also overtaken by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, while Antonelli demonstrated the same exceptional race pace already seen during Friday’s second free practice session, particularly on the Hard tyres.
For these reasons, and also considering the setup choices made by Russell, it is difficult to say with certainty that he would have won the race. He would certainly have had a much stronger chance, but the decisions taken in terms of car setup did not fully help his cause. His W17 was heavily biased towards the front end in an attempt to prevent graining, but that issue never materialized during the race.
Moreover, Pirelli had already indicated ahead of the weekend that the newly resurfaced sections of the Suzuka circuit, completed in the second half of 2025, would lead to different conditions compared to previous years. Last season, the new asphalt had only been present in the first sector, whereas this time it influenced a much larger portion of the track.
Despite everything, Russell is not overly concerned. With 19 races still remaining, the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings remains within reach. He knows he has a highly competitive car, but also understands that he will need to extract more from it, especially now that Antonelli appears to have taken a significant step forward and is emerging as a genuine title contender.
“The fight for the title hasn’t changed. With one lap difference, the win would have been mine and I’m very convinced about that. And in China, without the issue in qualifying, maybe I would have been three tenths faster in sprint qualifying, so perhaps I could have taken pole and won that race as well. But that’s motorsport. Now we have a four-week break, so there’s no momentum to carry. We reset and start again at the next race.”
George Russell therefore leaves Japan feeling that external factors and a setup mismatch cost him a golden opportunity. Based on the content of the upcoming month-long development break, the battle for supremacy within the Mercedes garage is set to become the defining narrative as the season heads to Florida.
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