George Russell confident Mercedes fixed software fault after Belgian Grand Prix radio rant

Russell lost straight-line speed on the opening lap before contact with Lewis Hamilton sent his Mercedes into the Les Combes gravel. The retirement left him third in the Formula 1 Drivers’ standings, 50 points behind teammate Kimi Antonelli after ten rounds.

The Briton had already raised concerns before Spa and became increasingly vocal as his car struggled to deploy electrical energy. Mercedes’ factory investigation has now traced the fault to a deeply embedded power unit calibration issue.

Russell said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix: “There was just something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code that... I mean, it was almost impossible to see unless you knew exactly what to look for. So yeah, I'm glad we have found it.

“Of course it's a bit frustrating to have what happened on Sunday but I'm just looking forward now and that's how the game goes.”

Asked whether he was completely certain the problem had been eliminated, Russell admitted: “It's numbers on a computer screen, really. And it has been infinitely harder for the team to understand that with these new regs and some different regulation changes and less sensors in certain places.”

Spa exposed how complex the current power units have become. Russell’s Mercedes appeared to lose electrical deployment before a sudden change in performance contributed to the confusion approaching Les Combes.

The problem also distracted Russell across recent weekends. Instead of concentrating purely on lap time, he spent significant effort changing his driving style while Mercedes searched for an explanation.

Russell compared the setbacks to his Formula 2 title-winning season, when repeated problems forced him to recover mentally after difficult weekends: “Three days later I'm feeling good and glad there are some positive answers that have come back from the factory and it's eyes forward now.”

Despite Antonelli’s six victories and growing status as the championship favourite, Russell noted that his 50-point deficit remains smaller than the 68-point gap he faced after Monaco.

More than half the season also remains. Hungary therefore offers Russell an immediate opportunity to rebuild momentum before the summer break. Russell added: “I definitely feel this is the most resilient I've ever been in my whole life. So I take pride in that as my mentality outside of the car.”

Russell accepted his expletive-filled radio messages could have been expressed more carefully, but insisted they reflected genuine frustration after repeatedly warning Mercedes about the issue.

He said: “The whole team is standing by me and vice versa. I felt quite vocal about this issue pre-Spa and during Spa and ultimately we have achieved what we wanted to in the sense of finding there was an issue.”

Mercedes now believe they have the answer. Russell’s next task is proving it on track at the Hungaroring.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier from Hungaroring)