George Russell endured a Dutch Grand Prix to forget on Sunday, as the British driver crossed the line in a disappointing P17.
The Mercedes driver had qualified in third, but almost immediately dropped to fourth behind Fernando Alonso.
The King’s Lynn-born driver’s race and Lewis Hamilton’s then worsened considerably, as Mercedes pitted both drivers far too late following a sudden downpour at the end of the opening lap.
A huge shower at the end of Lap 1 saw most drivers pit on either the second or third lap; however, Mercedes wanted both drivers to brave the treacherous conditions on their slick tyres.
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The Silver Arrows eventually pitted both drivers for Intermediate tyres, which dropped them almost to the back of the field.
Russell went on to make solid progress through the field to break back into the top 10, where he then came under pressure from Hamilton.
The 25-year-old was on old Hard tyres whilst Hamilton was on fresh Softs, meaning he was considerably faster.
Russell then had a terrifying moment at Turn 6, where he touched the damp white line which almost resulted in a huge crash.
He somehow saved it and corrected his car, in what was one of the greatest saves of the season.
Hamilton was later allowed past Russell after asking for team orders, something the Brackley-based team were slow to decide on.
This left Russell in seventh, before another huge rain shower soaked Zandvoort.
Everyone was forced to pit for Intermediates, before a red flag was flown due to rivers forming across the circuit.
When the race restarted, Russell and Lando Norris went wheel-to-wheel, which ended in minor contact between the British duo.
Despite contact only being minimal, it resulted in a puncture for Russell, who limped back to the pits.
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He exited the pits for the final few laps, before crossing the finish line in 17th.
Given where he started it certainly wasn’t an ideal finishing position for Russell, who is now being defeated 10-3 in his head-to-head with Hamilton.
Nothing is seemingly going Russell’s way at the moment, with the driver having felt like Mercedes threw away a podium.