Former Formula 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve was scathing in his assessment of George Russell’s performance in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, accusing him of “feeling the pressure” of the World Championship fight.
The Briton finished second in Barcelona, with former teammate Lewis Hamilton taking an historic first win for Ferrari, as current Mercedes partner Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired with a handful of laps to go.
Russell took pole position on Saturday, but his challenge fell away when the Silver Arrows called him in early in response to Hamilton’s instigation of a three-stop strategy.
Accusing his team of “exposing” him to Antonelli’s threat, Russell was left to duel it out with the Italian, enabling Hamilton to close.
With the 41-year-old leapfrogging Russell in the latter stages, he then lost second ot Antonelli after the teenager’s brave overtake into Turn 1, but just one lap later, his W17 would crawl to a halt at the hairpin.
The result cuts Russell’s deficit to Antonelli down to 50 points, with Hamilton second, 41 points behind. But Villeneuve, speaking on Sky Sports F1, was no holds barred in his review of Russell’s on-track tussle with Antonelli.
“Russell wasn’t very good at defending was he?” the Canadian said. “He left it too late, left the door open.
“He didn’t look like a driver going for the championship. He looked like he had already lost the battle to his team-mate.
“It was actually a disappointing drive from Russell today. He had no pace. Look at the qualifying he had, he had his team-mate covered.
“But he had no pace, he was going backwards, feeling the pressure, very disappointing.”
Mercedes will be hoping for a straight-line speed advantage to return at the Red Bull Ring next week, as Hamilton will be eager to continue his form.
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