Losing out to his teammate for the second successive race, George Russell admits to "going through pain"

Pitting from second on Lap 21, the world championship leader rejoined in fifth, but moments later the Safety Car was deployed when Oliver Bearman crashed out at Spoon.

This, of course, allowed those drivers ahead of him, including his teenage teammate, a 'free' pit stop.

Russell was quick to bemoan his bad luck over the radio, the Briton's anguish not helped by the fact that he had made a fairly strong start to the race while his teammate had dropped several positions.

Losing out to the Ferraris due to a battery issue Russell was able to overhaul Lewis Hamilton but was unable to make a move stick on Charles Leclerc.

"At the moment, it is just one thing after the other," he said at race end. "Racing can go for you, but it can also go against you too, and at the moment, every issue we are having is on my side of the garage and I am the one going through that pain.

"Sometimes people have problems in practice," he continued. "We have not had a single issue in practice, but I have had problems in qualifying instead. It is the luck of the draw with these new cars.

"But it is race three of 22, and I am not concerned at all," he insisted. "It is a long year, and I know I have got what it takes to bounce back. I won't dwell on it."

While team boss Toto Wolff is desperate not to put undue pressure on Kimi Antonelli, it is clear that Russell has a challenge on his hands, at a time many thought the Briton was pretty much a shoo-in for the title.

"No, not at all," he replied, when asked if he was concerned by his teammate's momentum. "If the safety car came out one lap earlier today, the victory would have been on my side, and I am confident in that.

"In China without the qualifying issue, I was three-tenths ahead in sprint qualifying so maybe I could have been on pole there and won. It is just how it turns out.

"We have got a four-week break so there is no momentum to be carried over. We will reset and go again for the next race."

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