George Russell dealt 'nothing to lose' verdict in F1 title chances

Martin Brundle has delivered the verdict that George Russell now has "nothing to lose" following a heavily disrupted first half of the season.

Russell came out of the blocks with immense strength in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and was backed as the clear title favourite.

However, he has faced countless issues since then, several of which have been outside of his control and related to his Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows, while largely dominant, have faced power unit problems this season, predominantly on the battery side.

Russell has encountered issues in China, Japan, Canada, Monaco and Belgium, with the Briton losing a substantial number of points.

Kimi Antonelli has also lost several points due to reliability problems, but he also has six wins to his name compared to Russell's two.

Now 50 points adrift after his opening-lap retirement at Spa-Francorchamps, Russell faces an uphill battle in the title fight heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix, although Brundle expects him to fight back.

Discussing Russell's recent difficulties, Brundle told Sky F1: "I think they're quirky cars to fully understand, and I think it's George who summed it up best for me when he said it's like a golfer having to learn a completely new swing. 

"I think he's got nothing to lose now. Actually, he's had so much bad luck and been in the wrong place at the wrong time, whatever it is. 

"But I think he'll come back really strongly now, and the team are going to find the issues. The biggest problem he's got is that Kimi's so relentlessly fast and consistently fast. 

"That's what he's got to work on now, because there's nothing he can do about the other stuff."