Russell Questions "Atrocious Luck" as Mercedes Star Counts 14 Troubled Races in 2026

George Russell has questioned whether his miserable 2026 season can really be put down to bad luck, revealing that he has hit trouble in 14 of the 20 races so far this year. Speaking in Sao Paulo on Thursday for the first time since team-mate Kimi Antonelli was crowned world champion, Russell was blunt about a campaign that promised so much and delivered so little. He started the year as a title favourite and won in Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan, but now sits fourth in the standings, 130 points behind Antonelli and behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The latest blow came in Mexico last Sunday. Russell qualified on the front row, only for a software glitch to ruin his start and cost him several places on the opening lap. He finished sixth, his title hopes ended for good. "I qualified on the front row, basically on pole. Then just to have basically the whole race taken away from me because of a software glitch was incredibly tough," Russell said. "It's been atrocious luck. We need to question, is it luck because it's happened too often?" Russell said he went through the season race by race with his engineer after Mexico and found only six races with no issues at all. He was excused from media duties after the race, leaving Mercedes with a 5,000 euro fine, with team principal Toto Wolff describing him as "distraught". With four races left, his focus now is simply rebuilding confidence and momentum.