An emotional George Russell was on the verge of tears after crashing out of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Mercedes F1 driver, starting in third, was impacted by the straight-line speed issue that has affected him all weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
Russell lost three positions on the Kemmel Straight before getting tangled with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
Yet Russell did not blame Hamilton – who received a five-second penalty for the incident – and instead laid blame on the engine issue which is impacting his title charge, especially compared to unaffected teammate Kimi Antonelli.
“I just got swallowed up down the straight, lost three positions down the straight at turn five,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.
“Maybe I could've gone wider, maybe he could've braked more… but the incident shouldn't have happened if I had the speed down the straight.
“Very, very disappointing. Nothing to say, no words.
“Appreciate everyone's hard work to solve the problem, but I'm stood here, lap five of the race, felt like I was in a good position to fight for the lead at turn one – but no power and it's all gone.”
With the interview’s audio only played on Sky’s broadcast, the commentary team later revealed that Russell was close to tears in the interview.
Russell now trails championship leader Antonelli by 50 points after the Italian claimed his sixth victory of the season.
