Toto Wolff "extremely frustrated" following George Russell's retirement at the Bahrain GP: "Not in a good state of mind"
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff expressed that he is "massively annoyed and not in a happy place" after a tumultuous Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which concluded with a late power unit failure for George Russell.
Starting from third and seventh, Kimi Antonelli and Russell executed remarkable starts, seizing first and second positions by taking advantage of the slow starts from polesitter Max Verstappen and second-placed Lewis Hamilton.
Russell appeared poised for a podium finish, but as the safety car period came to an end, he was forced to stop on the side of the track due to a power unit issue on lap 50.
"It’s a power unit failure. It wasn’t caused by the safety car. We haven’t assessed it yet," Wolff stated to Sky Sports F1 following the race. "I’m incredibly frustrated and not in a good place.
"Initially, we didn’t have the pace we anticipated before the weekend, so there’s a significant amount of work to do in order to bounce back, which I’m confident we will.
"Then the race, considering the battle with Lewis behind, went against us. We had a considerable advantage, one virtual safety car, two safety cars; it couldn’t have been more unfortunate.
George Russell, Mercedes
"To make matters worse, a PU failure just a few laps from the finish for George is devastating for his championship aspirations and detrimental to our constructors’ points.
"So, as much as I enjoy being here to witness the races, this has been one of my least favorable experiences, to be truthful."
Russell remarked that he was "beyond disappointed" as he saw his championship hopes fade with yet another retirement.
Antonelli remains at the top of the drivers' championship with 320 points. Russell is in second place with 236 points, while Hamilton sits in third with 214 points.
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