George Russell handed F1 title chances hammer blow

A RacingNews365 poll has delivered a damning verdict on George Russell's championship aspirations, with 74.9 per cent of voters declaring his title fight is over following the Italian Grand Prix.

Only 25.1 per cent of respondents believe Russell can still mount a comeback, a figure that looks increasingly optimistic given the scale of the task ahead.

Russell crossed the line second at Monza, less than four seconds behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli, but the result only deepened his problems. 

Antonelli charged from 19th on the grid to claim a stunning victory, extending his championship lead to 66 points with likely nine races remaining. 

Russell led for large portions of the afternoon, only for a Virtual Safety Car period to allow Mercedes to split strategies. Antonelli pitted for fresh rubber while Russell stayed out, a decision that proved decisive when the Italian carved past him three laps from the chequered flag.

Russell himself appeared to accept the reality of the situation in his post-race comments. "Definitely Kimi's in control of it and he's deserving to be in control of it," he told reporters at Monza. 

"For me personally, I'm not even thinking about a fight or a comeback or anything. I'm just focused on taking it race by race and trying to maximise every single weekend."

With well over 200 points still available, the maths technically remain in Russell's favour, but that requires near-perfection from here and a significant collapse from Antonelli. 

Factor in a looming engine penalty, with Mercedes confirming Russell has exhausted his allocation of penalty-free power units, and the road back looks steeper still.

Our readers, it seems, have already made up their minds.