George Russell has openly admitted that he feels "knocked down" after a disastrous weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, but he has also promised to "get back up" and continue fighting for the championship. Over the past three races he had managed to shrink the gap to his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli from 68 points to just 25, largely thanks to two reliability failures that plagued Antonelli’s car.

However, that progress was erased on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps when Russell’s race ended after only five corners, the result of a first‑lap collision with Lewis Hamilton that left him stranded on the Kemmel Straight. Russell’s frustration was not directed at Hamilton or even his former teammate; instead he blamed a persistent power‑unit problem on his Mercedes that left him vulnerable from the very start of the race. In a Monday‑morning post on social media he wrote, "Knocked down, we get back up. No matter how many times.

So many tough moments this year but I will not stop fighting." Those words encapsulate his determination to keep battling despite a string of setbacks that have tested his resolve. Mercedes has been scrambling to diagnose the mysterious straight‑line speed loss that has plagued Russell’s car all weekend. Team principal Toto Wolff explained that two distinct issues contributed to the Briton’s poor performance.

The first issue emerged during the practice and qualifying sessions, when a deployment problem prevented Russell from extracting full power in the final sector of Spa’s long lap. Wolff noted that Russell had tried to compensate by altering his driving style, but the underlying technical flaw remained. He added that the 2026 power units are exceptionally complex, featuring an almost even split between electric and internal‑combustion output, which makes the interaction between driver input and engine response particularly delicate. Wolff said, "We have a super‑strong package – a championship‑winning chassis and power unit – but we’re still trying to fix the reliability issue.

Over the weekend there was definitely something on the engine that meant George had less energy to deploy into Turn 18, which was the most visible symptom. It’s good that we spotted it here because in Budapest, which is not as energy‑starved, it would have been harder to identify. That probably accounted for half the gap or a little more that he had to Kimi." A second, unrelated problem hit all eight Mercedes‑powered cars at the start of the race. According to Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, a "new boost" issue reduced the amount of energy available out of Turn One.

This left Russell especially exposed on the Kemmel Straight, turning him into a sitting duck for the two Ferraris that surged past him. The lack of boost forced him into a lower position—dropping from a potential P3 to P5—before the collision with Hamilton forced an immediate retirement at Les Combes.

Wolff confirmed that the boost deficiency was not limited to Russell; Kimi Antonelli also suffered, albeit to a lesser degree. "All Mercedes engines had a lack of energy out of Turn One, so that wasn’t only George.

It affected him more than Kimi, but also Kimi had that issue to a certain degree," Wolff said. "And that meant that he didn’t come out at the end of the straight in P3, but P5.

So, he lost his two positions, and then obviously the accident with Lewis." In the post‑race analysis on Sky Sports F1, former driver Karun Chandhok stressed that Russell will need concrete engineering answers before the Hungarian Grand Prix. "He’s got to go back and try to get clear answers from an engineering sense," Chandhok remarked. "We’ve all had conversations this weekend with people from Mercedes, and the sense we’re getting is that they don’t have a clear answer.

They’ve got to go back, look at the data, have a couple of days to digest it between now and Budapest, because he can’t go into the next race weekend with a four‑tenth deficit in straight‑line speed." Chandhok likened the situation to "taking a pencil to a sword fight," emphasizing that without a solution the team may need to replace the power unit, even at the cost of a penalty, to restore confidence. He added, "As a racing driver, arriving at a weekend having doubt in the package or the car you’ve got and whether you’ve got a fair fight is an awful place to be.

He will be looking for clear engineering‑led answers, I think." Russell himself has spoken about the cumulative disappointment of technical failures throughout the season, citing earlier issues in China and a heartbreaking loss of the lead in Canada. He described himself as "numb to the disappointment" after the Spa incident.

Wolff, who has known Russell for over a decade, acknowledged the emotional toll such setbacks can take on a driver. "You have to understand that the driver is very emotional when these situations happen. But on the other side, as a Formula 1 driver, you’re part of a very elite group. It’s quite an honour to drive a Mercedes.

Sometimes we let ourselves down. It’s valuable constructor points that we lose in our fight against Ferrari. I hope the numb feeling goes away.

We will try to help recreate optimism and positivity," Wolff said. Wolff also highlighted the broader perspective: "I think all of the drivers, at least the ones that I have worked with, when they have difficult spells, and it happens to any sports person, you need to find a way of motivating or building up.

George has his way, and I’m definitely trying to do that. I’ve known him for such a long time, I understand the frustrations, and the team is 100 per cent there." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar moves to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the circuit’s less demanding energy profile should make it easier to spot any lingering power‑unit issues. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW with a flexible, no‑contract subscription.

Russell’s pledge to rise after being knocked down will be tested on the fast, sweeping corners of the Hungaroring, but his resolve, backed by a team determined to solve the technical puzzles, suggests the fight for the championship is far from over.