George Russell is optimistic Mercedes have identified and resolved the glitches that have afflicted his car’s power unit ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Russell slipped 50 points behind title-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps after making a first-lap exit from the race following contact from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
However, the Briton felt that the race-ending collision, and his difficult weekend relative to an on-form Antonelli as a whole, had been heavily influenced by energy-deployment problems with his engine.
Russell had experienced one straight-line speed glitch over the event’s first two days, hurting his car’s performance at the end of the long Spa lap, while his race start was hampered by a separate issue which impacted all Mercedes-powered runners and left him vulnerable to cars behind.
But Russell is hopeful Mercedes have managed to get to the bottom of what went wrong and, crucially, managed to fix the issues as F1 prepares for its final race before the summer break in Budapest.
“We’re pretty confident we I think we’ve got on top of the issues that we had in Spa and it should be easy to resolve,” he said.
“We hope and we think we have got on top of it, so feeling more positive.
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Mercedes driver George Russell spins after contact with Lewis Hamilton and his race ends on the opening lap, but was the Ferrari driver’s penalty fair?
“At the time we were not sure what it was but the team have worked so hard to really dig deep.
“I think Spa gave us the right clues where we needed to look and it’s only when you look really deep in the right place that you find the problem. Fingers crossed we hope the issue with the power unit has been resolved, but we’ll find out this weekend.”
Asked to clarify whether the problems had ever been anything to with the way he had been driving the W17, having initially worked through different approaches to tackling the sweeping Belgian lap in practice, Russell said: “We think it was a software bug. It wasn’t the driving style that was contributing to the loss of power, so that’s something at least.
“I think Spa gave us the right pointers of where to look for the problem. It’s like getting a needle out of a haystack really and suddenly when you know where you’ve got to look maybe the problem you can find and, thankfully, I think we have.
“Time will tell but it wasn’t an easy couple of weeks.”
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David Croft questions whether George Russell can still win the world championship after he was forced to retire in Belgium, while Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli went on to win the race
‘It is the toughest battle psychologically I’ve had’ – Russell opens up on 2026 ups and downs
Russell described his season, in which he started as the clear favourite for the world title, as an “emotional rollercoaster”, amid inconsistency in his own form and some costly Mercedes reliability problems.
Asked if it had all contributed to the toughest psychological battle he had faced in his career on track to date, the 28-year-old said: “Yeah, I think it’s probably fair to say it is the toughest battle psychologically I’ve had just because it’s been so many ups and downs, combined with things in my control that haven’t been great and also with things outside of my control that have hampered the progress and progression.
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Craig Slater discusses the biggest talking points off the back of the Belgian Grand Prix, including if the title chase has been blown for George Russell
“But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I sort of feel proud of my resilience and, three days later here after Spa, I feel positive and excited for the weekend and I’m looking at the future prospects and not the past disappointment.
“I guess that’s the good thing with racing, you’ve often got an opportunity just round the corner.”
That next opportunity is at the Hungaroring, where Russell has twice finished on the podium and claimed a first career pole position in 2022. The track is not as power dependent as either Silverstone, where Russell said he first experienced the straight-line speed glitch, or Spa.
The Briton is aiming to regain the improved form he believes he had been showing when he won the Austrian Grand Prix three races ago.
“I felt some good momentum coming out of Austria and Barcelona, especially after Monaco,” said Russell.
“Monaco was a very low point for me in my season and coming back in Barcelona, getting the pole, the P2 [in the race], getting the pole in Austria and getting the win, I felt a real good momentum building, which was halted in Silverstone and Spa.
“I hope I can continue from where we were in Austria.”
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Watch from onboard with George Russell as he crashes out of the Belgian GP after contact with Lewis Hamilton.
He added: I’m just looking forward to coming into Budapest. It’s a circuit I like. It’s going to be a real challenging weekend.
“We know it’s one of the least power-sensitive circuits of the season. We’ve got Ferrari close behind. They have a better chassis than power unit at the moment, so of all of the circuits, you can expect them to be competitive here.
“Of course, Kimi’s performing super well every single race weekend, so it’s not going to be a straightforward weekend, but I’m excited for it.”
He also insisted that nothing was lost yet in the race for 2026’s world title despite Antonelli’s increased lead.
“For sure [I can still win it],” added Russell.
“We’re not even halfway through yet. It’s just been so up and down this whole season. Four races ago I was a lot more points behind in the championship than I am right now even with the disappointments of Spa.
“So I am feeling a lot more positive, excited for the weekend ahead and hopefully now I can just focus on driving quick.”
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Friday July 24
8.50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Hungarian GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)*
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
3pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Hungarian GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday July 25
9am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Hungarian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint*
2.15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday July 26
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Hungarian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Hungarian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
5pm: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads straight to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
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