George Russell has placed the blame for his early exit from the Belgian Grand Prix on a power deficit in his Mercedes, which left him exposed to a first‑lap clash with Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. The British driver started the race from third on the grid and managed to hold that position through the opening corner. However, as the field accelerated down the long Kemmel Straight, Hamilton drew alongside and passed Russell, ending up side‑by‑side with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri as they approached the end of the straight. Russell, who had been running at the limit, tried to regain third place by moving to the outside of Hamilton.
The two cars made contact, sending Russell’s Mercedes careening into the gravel trap and ending his race prematurely. Although the stewards handed Hamilton a five‑second penalty for causing the incident, Russell told Sky Sports F1 that his greater frustration lay with his own machinery rather than his former teammate. "I just got totally swallowed up down the straight," Russell said, expressing his disappointment after the race saw him fall 50 championship points behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who went on to win the event. "I lost three positions down the straight into Turn Five and then the incident was a racing incident.
Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he could have braked a little more. The incident shouldn’t have happened if I had the speed down the straight. Very, very disappointed." The collision came on the heels of Russell’s earlier criticism of a lack of power that had hampered his qualifying performance on Saturday.
He had qualified fourth, more than half a second off pole‑sitter Antonelli, and had been vocal about the deficit he felt was costing him precious time. In the days leading up to the race, Russell appeared uncertain about the root cause of his under‑performance relative to Antonelli. He initially suggested that his driving style might be ill‑suited to the new 2026 generation of cars, but later retracted that view, indicating that the issue lay elsewhere. When asked how Mercedes intended to diagnose and resolve the problem, Russell explained, "I appreciate everyone is working hard to solve the problem, but I’m standing here on lap five of the race.
It felt like I was in a good position to fight for the lead up to Turn One and then, suddenly, no power and it’s all gone." Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that the power shortfall was not isolated to Russell’s car but affected all of the team’s power units, reducing straight‑line performance across the board. Wolff, who also oversees the supply of Mercedes engines to McLaren, Alpine and Williams, said, "The accident was unfortunate for us. We lost a lot of constructors' points and George's drivers' points. We had an issue on all Mercedes engines that we lacked power out on the straights.
That hit him badly and it 100 per cent goes on us." He added that despite the setback, Mercedes still possesses the most powerful power unit and a strong chassis capable of winning races. "We are trying our best as a team. Everyone is giving their maximum to minimise the mistakes and still it happens because we are humans at work," Wolff said. Mercedes has consistently fielded the quickest car over the first ten rounds of the season, but reliability problems have prevented them from converting that speed into a commanding points lead.
Russell’s retirement at Spa was his second DNF of the year, following an engine failure in Canada. Antonelli, meanwhile, suffered an engine failure in Barcelona and a wheel‑guard failure at Silverstone that turned a potential victory into a points‑free finish. Wolff reflected on the broader picture, stating, "We let Kimi down at Silverstone where George got a podium, which is maybe better than the result should have been. Then one DNF for Montreal, the other in Barcelona.
That’s a little bit of the story of our season. It’s a technical sport, a mechanical sport. We came out with a product that is so strong and I’d rather fix the reliability rather than accelerate a slow engine or slow car.
We are giving it 100 per cent and need to give it 100 per cent because we lost a lot of points with reliability. We should be much further ahead than we are." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar moves to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with all sessions set to be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Fans can stream the coverage via NOW, with no long‑term contract required. The upcoming race will provide Mercedes and Russell another opportunity to demonstrate whether they can overcome their power‑unit woes and return to the front of the grid.