George Russell has been handed just a “five per cent chance” of sealing the F1 title this year amid his challenging run of form.
The remark comes from former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner, who theorised it will take something miraculous for the Briton to come out on top.
Russell currently sits third in the standings, 59 points down on team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
While the Briton has ben often been outpaced by Antonelli, he has been plagued by reliability concerns and poor luck as he seeks to clinch the title for the first time in his career.
But with the season at the halfway point and Antonelli seemingly in strong form, Steiner sees Russell's hopes dwindling.
When asked on the Red Flags Podcast to put Russell's chances as a percentage, Steiner said: “I'd give him five per cent.”
Last time out in Hungary, Russell was shuffled to the back of the field on the opening lap when his car went into anti-stall.
Mercedes took the blame for the incident, but Steiner stated Russell should count himself lucky that he was not collected by a rival driver.
“Mercedes took some of the blame themselves - did they just do it to make him happy, or was it real?
“I don't know, but I think he got very lucky to get away with that and not get hit by anyone.
“By sitting this far up front, for how long he sat still... he was lucky.”
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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