Formula 2 title leader George Russell says that his list of misfortune in this year’s championship is “enormous”, despite his position at the helm of the standings.
Mercedes protégé Russell graduated to Formula 2 for this season with the ART Grand Prix squad with which he claimed the GP3 crown as a rookie last year.
Russell has taken more wins than any of his rivals (four) and is equal on three pole positions with Alexander Albon, permitting him to hold a 12-point lead over Lando Norris.
Russell leads the standings in spite of a sequence of misfortune, having been skewered by mechanical failures with the new-for-2018 F2/18 package in Monaco and Hungary, while a clash with Nyck de Vries wrecked his Baku Feature Race.
“I think this season in F2 has been unique for everybody,” said Russell.
“Hopefully we don’t, but if we were not to win the championship we can always look back and say we had a whole weekend in Budapest ruined by mechanical [issues], we had the whole of Monaco ruined by mechanical [issues], we had race two in Paul Ricard, didn’t start, we stalled in Bahrain.
“The list is just enormous. Everyone is having issues but we kind of are getting that unluckier moment, let’s say, on tracks you can’t do anything, Budapest and Monaco have been my worst two.
“What’s essential is that I keep on performing. I keep on qualifying at the front and if I am at the back I keep on coming back like I have been doing.
“I don’t think it’s essential to win [the F2 title] to secure that F1 seat.”
Russell is understood to be a contender for a 2019 seat with Williams should the heavily-funded Lance Stroll depart the team for the Force India squad now partly owned by his father.
Russell, though, is likely to face stiff opposition from fellow Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon, who has raced for Manor and Force India across the past two years in Formula 1, and whose likely move to Renault was halted by Daniel Ricciardo's surprise switch.
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