George Russell's Monaco Grand Prix unravelled due to a pair of penalties, leaving him 68 points behind Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the championship. The first, a five-second hit, came for exceeding the pitlane speed limit by just 0.1km/h. Russell blamed a software glitch for the infraction. The second, more devastating blow was a drive-through for not properly serving the initial five-second penalty during a late Safety Car pit stop. Mercedes mechanics began servicing the car immediately instead of holding it, a "clear mistake" according to Toto Wolff.
Russell emerged 15th after the drive-through, salvaging 12th only through post-race penalties to other drivers. Russell expressed profound frustration, feeling his season is being derailed by uncontrollable bad luck – lost podiums in Canada and Japan, now Monaco. He asserts he has never experienced such a run of misfortune. Wolff, however, remains unconcerned about his driver's form, trusting Russell's proven talent to overcome the setbacks as the season progresses.
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