The points Russell has lost to reliability issues in 2026 following Malaysia retirement

George Russell’s title hopes were dealt a significant blow on Sunday in Sepang, when he retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia while running third.

It was not the first time he has parked up this season before the chequered flag was waved either, Mercedes suffering some reliability woes with their power unit as they get to grips with the new generation of cars.

Leaving Malaysia, Russell finds himself with an 84-point deficit to his team mate after Kimi Antonelli finished Sunday's race in second place and picked up 18 points for that result. It is the biggest lead the Italian has enjoyed all season, and one that looks decisive with only 183 points left on the table.

Russell was tucked in behind Max Verstappen and Antonelli as the pack followed the Safety Car round in Sepang, but just as racing was about to resume, he pulled over and parked at the pit lane exit, holding his helmet in his hands briefly before climbing out of the car.

“It's unfortunately happened too many times this season, and, yeah, this is just where we are,” a despondent Russell said after the race.

So, how many points has Russell potentially lost to reliability in 2026?

Canada – Russell’s first DNF

A strong start to the year with the win in Australia followed by Sprint victory in China had slowly stalled for Russell, who finished second in the Grand Prix in Shanghai to his team mate, before coming home just off the podium in Japan and Miami.

But he looked back to his best in Montreal, taking pole and the win in the Sprint, and pole for the Grand Prix too. In the race, he was duelling with Antonelli and was on for either 25 or 18 points, with the Mercedes the class of the field.

Such was their wheel-to-wheel battle, with the lead changing hands more than once, it is difficult to assess how many points Russell lost when his car ground to a halt – a battery failure later blamed. But he was on for at worst second place, and the 18 points that go with it.

Estimated points lost: Minimum of 18

Hungary – A water leak and anti-stall

In Budapest, it was clear the Mercedes was not the class of the field. But even so, Russell could only qualify seventh after the first runs of Q3 and then stayed in that position thanks to a water leak, which forced him to stop on track.

He actually started the race sixth, ahead of his team mate who picked up a penalty, but then came more issues when his anti-stall kicked in at the start. Russell watched the whole field stream past, at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

He drove a good recovery race to finish seventh, while his team mate made it up to third as Antonelli continued to extend his lead in the standings.

As to how many points Russell lost, it is hard to assess but with Antonelli starting behind yet climbing ahead of both Ferrari cars, it is not inconceivable that Russell could have done likewise and come home around fourth.

Estimated points lost: Six (based on finishing fourth)

Bahrain – Another power unit issue

Mercedes have had a number of PU problems this year, not just on their own cars but also with those fitted to customer teams. But any recent DNF results for the likes of McLaren and Alpine have been caused by crashes rather than reliability.

As such, it seemed Mercedes were back on top of things, until that moment in Sepang. Russell had been overtaken on track, on merit by Antonelli who had pulled away from his team mate, so P2 was unlikely for the Mercedes man.

But Russell looked certain of a third-place finish and the 15 points that went with it. Instead, his afternoon ended on the back of a moped, with Toto Wolff afterwards calling it “one of my worst experiences.”

There's also more damage to come, with Mercedes confirming the Briton is set to start the Singapore Grand Prix from the back.

Estimated points lost: 15

China and Japan – More issues for Russell

It is harder to assess whether Russell lost points in China, but he did suffer an issue in Q3 in Qualifying that saw him briefly stop out on track. He was able to get going and make it to the pits, coming out to set one flying run towards the end of the session.

It turned out to be a gearbox issue, but whether without that disrupting his momentum and rhythm he could have taken pole is an unknown. He did manage to finish second to his team mate in the race, however.

In Japan, Russell started suffering unexplained vibrations on the rear of his car in Qualifying, the team altering his front wing set-up to compensate. That left him with an untested set-up, a car that proved difficult to drive and more problems than answers.

He managed to qualify second behind his team mate, but finished fourth after some bad luck in the race with the timing of a Safety Car. A battery deployment issue cost him a place to Charles Leclerc too. “I got a harvest limit which meant I couldn’t recharge my battery,” he explained afterwards.

But again, it is impossible to judge what would have happened without those vibrations in Qualifying, and how much the adjusted set-up compromised his grid slot and perhaps his race.

Estimated points lost: Potentially five in Japan had he finished ahead of Leclerc

Belgium – More issues at the start

At Spa, Russell qualified fourth, as his team mate started on pole yet again. But more problems derailed his start, a deployment issue meaning he got bogged down off the line.

That left Russell to tangle with Lewis Hamilton, the contact between the former team mates enough to send the Mercedes into the gravel and out of the race.

How many points did he lose? With so much chopping and changing to the order in Spa, this one is an impossible to call result. But at a race where his team mate took another win, it was clear Mercedes had the pace to challenge for the podium or at leas to maintain his starting position of fourth.

Estimated points lost: 12 (based on finishing fourth)

Add all those together, which it must be stressed are estimates, and you get a tally up to 56 points. However, it is safe to say the DNF results from Canada and Sepang alone have ultimately cost Russell 33 points this year. Not enough to get close to his team mate, but enough to make that Drivers’ Championship a bit more competitive.

What about Antonelli's reliability?

Antonelli suffered a DNF in Barcelona-Catalunya when he was running second, having overtaken his team mate out on track. While he looked out of time to chase down Hamilton for the win, he lost an almost certain 18 points when his car suffered an electrical shutdown.

That DNF promoted Russell from third to second, gaining him three additional points.

In Silverstone, Antonelli was on the charge on fresh tyres late on, trying to close down an older-shod Charles Leclerc for the win. The crowd was robbed of an epic showdown thanks to a left front wheel shield failure, which forced Antonelli into multiple pit stops.

He also earned a time penalty for track violations as he struggled to keep his car on the road, and lost out on what was a likely P2 finish, coming home outside the points. Russell would go on to finish second, so instead of extending his lead in the standings by three-points, Antonelli saw his team mate eat 18 points into that gap.

So, while Antonelli has also lost a likely 36 points this season from reliability woes, Russell has twice gained a position thanks to his team mate’s problems. Swings and roundabouts, but what is for sure is that Mercedes have left points on the table this year.

That is not unexpected in a new era of regulations, with their rivals also suffering their own problems this season. Fortunately for the Silver Arrows, they still have a sizeable lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.