Russell rues Suzuka misfortune: 'Every issue we’ve had has been on my side'

The British driver, who entered the 2026 campaign as favourite for the Drivers’ Championship, left the weekend in Suzuka trailing Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the drivers’ standings.

The 28-year-old, however, in his assessment of his outing, which saw him miss out on a podium finish for the first time this season, pointed out how frustrating the race weekend had been for him.

Russell noted the timing of the safety car and the several issues he encountered with his battery deployment as integral to the fourth-place finish he managed on the afternoon.

"It's annoying that I missed out on the podium because, at the safety-car restart, I couldn't charge my battery, so we got overtaken by Lewis [Hamilton]. And then there was another problem with Charles [Leclerc], with the battery. These cars are still very complicated, it's still very early, and you have to make these mistakes to learn," Russell explained.

"What can you do? It's just pure luck. If that had been one lap later, we'd have won the race, and if there had been no crash, maybe we would have regretted not pitting at that point. In racing, sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you. It just feels like, at the moment, these last two weekends, every issue we've had has been on my side, and we're just going through that pain," he added.

Despite the setback, Russell remained pragmatic about the long season ahead.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Russell, who qualified in second place, finished the race over 15 seconds behind teammate Antonelli. The Suzuka outing also marked the second race in which the British driver has lost out on race Sunday to Antonelli.

Earlier, British media aired their take on Russell after he lost his championship lead to Antonelli.

Several outlets detailed how the 28-year-old needs to be wary of the young Italian, following his consecutive race victories.

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