George Russell has retired from the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix, ending a thrilling race-long duel between himself and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.
The British driver had been involved in a tete-a-tete with Antonelli for the first half of the Grand Prix in Montreal, but his interest in the race prematurely ended with a technical problem.
George Russell retires from lead after Mercedes battle with Kimi Antonelli
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Russell and Antonelli had qualified on the front row of the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix and, while they briefly lost the lead as Lando Norris leapt off the line in his McLaren to move ahead, controlled proceedings for the opening half of the race.
But it was far from straightforward, with the duo trading places in an increasingly scrappy duel that saw both lead, with neither able to escape the attentions of the other as mistakes at the hairpin and the power of the Overtake Mode kept them nose-to-tail.
Just before the halfway mark of the race, Russell went off track at Turn 8 as his Mercedes slowed and stopped on the exit of the corner.
Clearly furious, Russell threw his headrest in front of his stricken W17, and he clambered out of his car to jump behind the barrier and watch on as his car was recovered under Virtual Safety Car conditions.
Having been in the heat of battle, Russell stood trackside in disbelief for a while before making his way back to the paddock, as Mercedes confirmed the issue had been on the power unit side.
Adding to his woes, his throwing of the headrest was noted by the stewards.
“Everything turned off all of a sudden, just went into the corner,” Russell told Sky F1 when he got back to the pits.
“Yeah, engine stopped, no electronics, no proper braking so… I’m a bit lost for words right now, I can’t say any more.”
“I’m proud of my weekend, pole in the Sprint, won the Sprint, pole in qualifying, I was leading when I stopped, I had good battling with Kimi.
“From my side, I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend, so I will leave satisfied.
“Of course, I’m pretty frustrated with what’s happened, but what more can I do?”
Russell is not the only high-profile retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix, with Lando Norris also out due to an apparent gearbox issue at the hairpin; the McLaren man had been struggling to recover from the midfield after the team opted to start its two cars on the intermediate tyres in dry conditions.
This article will be updated.
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