George Russell was forced to replace his power unit before the Hungarian Grand Prix when a crack in the engine caused a coolant leak during qualifying. The British driver ended Q3 in a disappointing seventh place, but a three‑grid‑spot penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane will see him line up sixth on the grid, ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli.
The problem became apparent at the very end of the final qualifying session when the Mercedes team detected a sudden drop in water pressure. The loss of pressure indicated that the power unit was leaking coolant, prompting engineers to swap the unit for a fresh one. This will be Russell's fourth power unit of the 2026 season, but because the replacement is of the same specification and does not exceed the four‑engine limit, he will escape any grid‑penalty.
Mercedes suspect the leak originated when Russell ran over the exit kerb at Turn 4 on his last flying lap. The impact may have cracked a pipe or a seal, allowing coolant to escape.
"We lost water pressure and I had a water leak. When I stopped on track, the car was leaking a load of water," Russell told Sky Sports F1. He added, "Fingers crossed it doesn't affect anything for the race." The incident adds to a string of reliability setbacks that have plagued Mercedes this year.
Both Russell and Antonelli have suffered engine‑related retirements, and the team has been scrambling to keep the cars on the grid. At the previous round in Belgium, Russell was "lost for words" after a software bug in the power unit reduced straight‑line speed and culminated in a race‑ending collision with Lewis Hamilton at Spa‑Francorchamps. Mercedes have since patched the software, and technical director Simone Resta explained that the bug was present in all cars but impacted George more because Kimi was running a fresher engine. Resta also noted that the performance gap between the two drivers cannot be blamed solely on software.
"When we compare their recent results, Kimi was on a newer power unit, which naturally gives a slight advantage over a more used one. That will change in the coming races when George receives a newer unit," he said. "So the picture is a mix of software issues, engine age, and the way each driver’s programme aligns with the car's development." The qualifying order, after the penalty adjustment, placed Lando Norris (McLaren) on pole, followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Russell, Antonelli, Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Nico Hulkenberg (Audi).
Despite the penalty, Russell will still start a place ahead of his teammate and will be looking to claw back some of the 50‑point deficit to championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Russell acknowledged that his pace has lagged behind Antonelli’s throughout the European swing, and he admitted the Hungarian weekend will be a test of how quickly he can close that gap. "We were probably even further off on Friday but we had the strongest race pace, which suggests the issue is not the car but the tyres," he said.
"Time will tell in the race if we struck the right balance between the qualifying setup and the race setup. We probably know we could make the car faster in qualifying trim at the expense of race performance." Overtaking at the Hungaroring is notoriously difficult, and Russell knows that starting from sixth will require a flawless race strategy and perhaps a bit of luck. "It's going to be difficult to overtake. It would have been nice to be higher up," he added.
The race schedule for Sunday, July 26, includes a packed program: an F3 feature race at 7:35 am, the Porsche Supercup at 9:05 am, an F2 feature race at 10:20 am, followed by the build‑up coverage for the Grand Prix from 12:30 pm. The Hungarian Grand Prix itself will start at 2:00 pm, with post‑race analysis, the chequered‑flag reaction, and a special segment called "Ted's Notebook" later in the afternoon. All of this will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with streaming available via NOW without a contract.
In summary, Russell's forced power‑unit swap highlights the ongoing reliability challenges for Mercedes, but the team hopes the fresh engine will allow him to compete for points despite the setback. With a sixth‑place grid slot, a repaired software glitch, and a potentially more stable power unit, Russell will aim to minimise the damage to his championship campaign and keep his teammate's lead in check as the season progresses.