Mercedes F1 star George Russell has already broken down in Monaco

George Russell, Mercedes, Monaco, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Monaco Grand Prix

George Russell's car has already broken down in Monaco

Russell will be hoping this isn't a sign of things to come

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 5 June 2026 12:57

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This weekend's Monaco Grand Prix has barely begun, yet Mercedes F1 driver George Russell is already experiencing car trouble.

The 28-year-old heads to Monte Carlo on the back foot after failing to pick up a single point in the main event at the Canadian GP last time out despite winning the Saturday sprint.

Sadly for the Brit, his victory over team-mate and title rival Kimi Antonelli was all but forgotten by the time lap 30 rolled around in Montreal, when he was forced to retire from the race lead due to reliability issues with his W17.

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The six-time grand prix winner was left visibly fuming and more importantly, 43 points behind his teenage team-mate as a result.

And things haven't gone well for Russell so far in Monaco either.

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Russell struggles early in Monaco

The track action may not have kicked off yet in the principality but that hasn't stopped the Silver Arrows star from being snapped at the side of the track pushing his own vehicle, with the help of girlfriend Carmen Mundt.

In a clip posted to social media, Russell and his partner were videoed having to manually push his dark blue Fiat 500 Jolly beach car, a model which is similar to the one that fellow F1 star Lando Norris is often spotted piloting around the streets of Monaco.

Many F1 drivers reside in the principality including Russell, which could explain why he opted for the rather unusual vehicle to get him to the track ahead of Thursday's media day and the weekend's track action.

Russell will be hoping he doesn't suffer a similar fate at the wheel of his Mercedes F1 car this weekend, with a points haul exactly what the Brit needs to restore Toto Wolff's faith in him.

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When is the Monaco Grand Prix?

After two back-to-back sprint race weekends, the Monaco GP will return to regular running.

As a result, two practice sessions will take place on Friday, June 5, before the third and final hour of practice commences on Saturday, June 6, followed by qualifying.

On Sunday, June 7, lights out for the Monaco GP will then take place at 3pm local time (CEST) which is 2pm BST, 9am EDT and 6am PDT.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 George Russell Monaco Grand Prix