Russell 'scratching head' after 'dropping like a stone' in Dutch GP

George Russell says he does not know where Mercedes' pace has gone after a disappointing Dutch Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old qualified in fourth in Zandvoort, but started "dropping like a stone" after initially dispensing of Oscar Piastri and moving up into third.

Russell settled into the steady rhythm of proceedings ahead of the pit stops. However, when Charles Leclerc pitted from fifth place on lap 25, Russell responded.

It was a poor stop for the Mercedes crew and combined with the undercut, the Ferrari swept through to claim track position.

Piastri ran long but once the McLaren driver had put on fresh rubber, quickly dispatched of Russell, who found himself unable to fight the cars ahead and slipping into the jaws of those behind.

"After the first couple of laps, I thought we're on course for probably a podium here," Russell told media including RacingNews365. "I knew you overtaking was going to be difficult.

"I was really shocked at how fast McLaren were. Lando [Norris] just looked so comfortable out there.

"It was super impressive to see, but we've had six really strong races, and then suddenly we've finished almost a minute behind the win today - you don't lose all of that performance overnight.

"Yesterday, we qualified fourth, and clearly didn't get something right today."

When queried on what it was about Zandvoort that did not click for Mercedes, he replied: "Honestly, right now, I'm still scratching my head. It was very tough conditions with this wind, with the long corners. Right now, I don't have the answers."

'Dropping like a stone'

Like Lewis Hamilton, Russell found himself struggling on the hard compound, which prompted Mercedes to switch him to a two-stopper on lap 54, as was planned for his team-mate.

This dropped him into seventh behind Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, where he ultimately finished - just once place ahead of Hamilton, who had started P14.

"I probably would have finished one, maybe max, two positions higher, but we just had no pace," the two-time grand prix winner explained had it not been for the second pit stop.

"I was just dropping like a stone, especially quite surprised versus Ferrari, we were expecting to be comfortably ahead of them, and Charles [Leclerc] was quicker, Carlos [Sainz] was catching me.

"Clearly, we got something wrong.