George Russell has claimed he feels as if "the gods don't want me in the fight" for the F1 title following his Canadian GP heartbreak.
Leading after a thrilling battle with team-mate Kimi Antonelli, Russell suffered a Mercedes power unit failure on Lap 30, which gifted Antonelli his fourth successive win - the first driver to ever score his first four grand prix wins in consecutive races.
The Italian now has 131 points to Russell's 88, with the Briton not finishing on the grand prix podium since the second round in China, having suffered with an unfortunate safety car in Japan, and a bad weekend in Miami before the Montreal DNF.
The 43 points Russell is behind Antonelli has been tempered somewhat by his two Sprint race wins, in China and on Saturday in Canada, but Russell is facing an uphill battle, with the largest points deficit overturned in the current points system being 46 by Max Verstappen on Charles Leclerc in 2022.
Reflecting, Russell believes divine intervention is conspiring against him, as he piled the pressure on Antonelli.
"Right now, it is his to lose, being so many points ahead," Russell told media, including RacingNews365.
"It feels like the gods don't want me to be in this fight.
"When I look at the safety car timing in Japan, breaking down in China qualifying fighting for pole, breaking down from the lead here.
"But the pressure is off, I will go out, enjoy every single race and try to win every single race, and I've got nothing to lose.
"I don't want to be stood here talking like that. It is, of course, frustrating. I want to be in that fight, and hopefully, the luck turns."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look ahead to this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix! The trio discuss the fact Mercedes will introduce a major upgrades package and how Max Verstappen could be a real threat with a smooth weekend.
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