George Russell had a Sunday to forget in Montreal. The Mercedes driver, who had started from pole, was forced to retire on lap 30 due to a power unit failure in his W16. At the time, he was battling wheel-to-wheel with his teammate Kimi Antonelli, the current championship leader. Russell's frustration was evident as he hit the steering wheel after stopping in the runoff area.
Mercedes power unit causes problems again ⚙️
The failure originated in the energy recovery system (MGU-K), according to team sources. This component, responsible for recovering kinetic energy during braking, stopped working without warning, causing a sudden loss of power. Mercedes had introduced a new power unit specification this weekend to improve reliability, but the problem persisted. Russell's car showed anomalous thermal degradation in the rear brakes before the retirement.
Russell took a souvenir from Montreal: a bitten steering wheel 🦷
While Antonelli headed towards his fourth consecutive victory, Russell consoled himself by biting the steering wheel. Literally. Onboard cameras captured the Briton taking a couple of bites out of the steering wheel after stopping. We don't know if it was to test the carbon fiber's resistance or simply because he got hungry for victory. What is certain is that Antonelli now leads the championship with a 37-point advantage. Russell, for his part, will have to make an appointment with the dentist.