George Russell remains upbeat that Mercedes have finally pinpointed and rectified the power‑unit glitches that plagued his car during the recent Spa weekend, and he is looking forward to testing the fixes at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. The British driver had seen his championship hopes suffer a major setback at Spa‑Francorchamps, falling 50 points behind his title‑leading teammate Kimi Antonelli after a first‑lap incident that forced him out of the race.

The collision, which involved Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, came at a moment when Russell was already battling a series of technical issues that hampered his performance throughout the weekend. During the two practice days at Spa, Russell experienced a noticeable loss of straight‑line speed on the long, sweeping sections of the circuit.

The problem manifested as a brief but significant drop in power, which compromised his lap times on the track’s longest straight. In addition, the start of the race was marred by a separate fault that affected all Mercedes‑powered cars, leaving Russell vulnerable to the cars behind him and ultimately contributing to the contact that ended his race. Despite these setbacks, Russell expressed confidence that the team have now gotten to the root of the issue and implemented a solution before the summer‑break finale in Budapest. "We’re pretty confident we’ve got on top of the issues we had in Spa and it should be easy to resolve," he said in a post‑race interview.

"We hope and we think we have got on top of it, so feeling more positive." Russell explained that the team’s diagnostic work began with the clues gathered at Spa. "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," he added.

When asked whether his driving style might have contributed to the loss of power, Russell dismissed that possibility, suggesting a software bug was to blame. "It wasn’t the driving style that was contributing to the loss of power, so that’s something at least," he said. He likened the hunt for the fault to "getting a needle out of a haystack" and expressed relief that the team now believes they have located it.

The British driver described his season as an "emotional rollercoaster". He entered the year as the clear favourite for the world championship, but a combination of inconsistent form and a string of reliability problems for Mercedes has turned the campaign into a series of highs and lows. "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," Russell admitted. Nevertheless, he stressed his resilience.

"What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I sort of feel proud of my resilience. 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," he said.

He added that racing always offers a fresh chance: "I guess that’s the good thing with racing, you often get an opportunity just round the corner." The next opportunity arrives at the Hungaroring, a circuit that historically places less emphasis on outright power compared with tracks like Silverstone or Spa. Russell has a strong pedigree at the venue, having secured two podium finishes and his maiden career pole position there in 2022.

He hopes to translate the momentum he built after his Austrian Grand Prix victory three races ago into a strong result in Budapest. Reflecting on his recent form, Russell said, "I felt some good momentum coming out of Austria and Barcelona, especially after Monaco. 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." He is also looking forward to the circuit itself, describing it as one of his favourites.

"I’m just looking forward to coming into Budapest. It’s a circuit I like. It’s going to be a real challenging weekend," he said.

While the Hungaroring is less power‑sensitive, Russell warned that Ferrari have a strong chassis advantage at the moment, and that his teammate Antonelli continues to perform at a very high level. "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 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 added. Despite Antonelli’s growing lead in the championship, Russell insists the title fight is far from over.

"For sure I can still win it," he said confidently. "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." The schedule for the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend is packed with support series action, beginning on Friday, July 24, with F3 and F2 practice sessions, followed by qualifying for both categories and a first F1 practice later in the day.

Saturday, July 25, features an F3 sprint, the final F1 practice, and the crucial qualifying session that will set the grid for Sunday’s race. On race day, July 26, fans can enjoy the F3 feature race, the Porsche Supercup, the F2 feature race, and finally the Hungarian Grand Prix itself, with post‑race analysis and highlights later in the afternoon.

All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW for those who prefer an online option.