George Russell has said "you've almost got to laugh" at his bad luck after retiring from a near-certain third in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Russell was behind Kimi Antonelli during the late safety car period when a suspected power unit issue meant he had to pull over to one side, turning a net three-point loss into an 18-point loss in the F1 drivers' title fight.
It leaves the British driver 84 points adrift of his Mercedes team-mate in the championship standings with just six or seven rounds of the campaign to go.
"You've almost got to laugh," Russell told Sky Sports F1 after the race. "I'm beyond disappointment. So many times this season it's happened; it's a real shame... but just keep on fighting, just keep on trying to go.
"The podium, of course, looked very certain. Solid race, not an amazing race, but a solid race.
"But not the first time, so I'm pretty used to this feeling and these questions, let's say."
Russell: 'I needed luck on my side'
Having started seventh, the early chaos saw Russell vault his way up to third, before getting the better of Antonelli at the first safety car restart.
However, he could not hold onto the young Italian, who was extracting better pace from his W17, and looked to have secured a three-point loss in the standings. Not ideal, but perhaps more than he could have expected before the race.
But for fate to intervene in his season again, as it did so often during the opening rounds of the year, meaning any hope of an improbable recovery in the F1 drivers' title fight now looks to be beyond reach.
"I don't need to say, 'I think it's gone' or whatever, but of course it's exceptionally likely, and that's just the reality," Russell replied when asked if he must now accept the championship is over.
"I knew if I wanted to come back, I needed luck on my side. Unfortunately, I've had luck not on my side, so you know, a three-point loss today, being behind Kimi, turned into an 18-point loss.
"Of course, if the issue was on the other side, it would have been an 18-point gain. So it's a real shame... but that's just how it is."
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