– The disappointing horror season for George Russell continues: The Mercedes driver ended up in the gravel trap already in the first lap at the Belgian Grand Prix (full race report) after a collision with Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and has to accept his third zero score this year.
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But the collision is not even the biggest annoyance for Russell: instead, it was once again the power loss of his Mercedes engine that made him particularly angry. “Un-fucking-acceptable,” he already complained shortly after the retirement on team radio.
What exactly did he mean by that? “I had a good start, got through the first corner excellently and was right behind Verstappen. But for some reason, the battery decided not to charge in corner 1,” the Mercedes driver added, referring to his actual problem.
“So I went through the first corner, the battery didn’t charge, and I came out of the corner with only 35 percent charge.” That’s why Russell then also had problems with the boost: “The turbo didn’t regulate properly, so I lacked power,” he said.
“I reached the highest point of Eau Rouge with zero percent battery charge. Honestly, that was dangerous. I was overtaken by three cars,” the 28-year-old reported. Compared to the competition, he simply lacked power, which is why he suddenly slowed down on the Kemmel straight.
“I felt like I was in a good position and fighting for the lead. And then suddenly no power, and everything was gone,” said Russell, who shortly afterwards collided with Hamilton. “I really shouldn’t have gotten into that situation in the first place. That’s what annoys me the most.”
Russell sees collision with Hamilton as a racing incident
Russell ultimately classified the collision with the Ferrari driver as a racing incident. “Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he could have braked a bit harder,” he added. “He didn’t do it on purpose. He was more at fault than me, but he didn’t do anything reckless.”
Unlike Russell, the race stewards identified the record world champion as the sole cause of the accident. “The car pulled in front of me. I was right behind another car, so I had no grip on the front axle,” Hamilton tried to justify himself on the radio.
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Without success: The Briton was handed a five-second penalty, which he had to serve before his pit stop. Although the pure time loss was limited because Hamilton could make the stop during a virtual safety car – he immediately touched a mechanic when leaving the pit, costing valuable seconds again.
“Something new every day”: Russell criticizes Mercedes
For Russell, all this ultimately doesn’t matter: due to the bitter retirement in Belgium, the Mercedes driver loses valuable ground again in the internal duel with teammate Antonelli. “I don’t know what to say,” the Briton summarized frustratedly on Sky. “I’m at a loss for words, it’s just …”
Photo gallery: Where George Russell lost the most points in the 2026 World Championship battle
Curiously: Russell already struggled with power loss on Saturday – a problem that, according to team boss Toto Wolff, was actually fixed overnight. “We definitely found something on the engine that cost it more energy than all the other Mercedes engines,” said the Austrian before the race on Sky. “And hopefully it’s better now.”
But just a few minutes later, the Mercedes driver was literally eaten up on the Kemmel straight. “This time it’s something completely different,” the 28-year-old stated and can hardly hold back criticism of his equipment: “There’s something new every day.”
“I appreciate that everyone is working hard to solve the problem, but I’m here in lap 5 of the race.” The frustration runs deep, as Russell was already stopped prematurely in Canada due to a technical defect on his Mercedes W17.
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A weak consolation remains at best that Antonelli has also been plagued by several reliability problems this season. “I’m now numb to the disappointment,” Russell made clear in conclusion. “When something like this happens all the time, you just get used to it.”
Read more «Something new every day»: George Russell criticizes the Mercedes power unit
