Mercedes F1 team give George Russell huge title boost as F1 fix deployed for Hungarian GP

Russell in turquoise F1 helmet with Wolff walking past in the background looking serious — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes give George Russell huge title boost as F1 fix deployed for Hungarian GP

Mercedes suffered problems in Belgium

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 24 July 2026 09:55

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Mercedes have managed to get to the bottom of a software problem which plagued George Russell at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Russell struggled with straight-line speed compared to his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, stating after qualifying at Spa that he was noticing discrepancies in the data between his car and Antonelli's on the straights.

This was then evident during the race, when Russell's car appeared to slow towards the end of the Kemmel Straight on lap one, putting him in a battle with a number of drivers for fourth position.

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That led to Russell then having to scrap with Lewis Hamilton into turn five, and the pair collided, seeing Russell go spinning off into the gravel and out of the race.

Following his early DNF, Russell took to media once again to explain his car's issues, and seemed on the verge of tears, while claiming that it was the lack of power that had led to his retirement, rather than any wrongdoing from Hamilton.

But ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, there appears to be some good news for the Brit, as he now attempts to start eating into Antonelli's 50-point lead in the standings.

Have Mercedes fixed the problems with Russell's car?

Mercedes have made deployment software modifications ahead of the race weekend at the Hungaroring which they are hoping will cure the problem of running out of battery power on the straights.

Mercedes have revealed that an element deep in the code on Russell's power unit meant his deployment was being front-loaded around the lap, while they also revealed that there was a separate software issue on both Russell and Antonelli's cars.

The team have put countermeasures in place to ensure that similar issues do not occur at the upcoming Hungarian GP.

Russell's first interview after qualifying in Spa was particularly alarming in that he suggested that the issues had been ongoing for a while, not just at the Belgian GP, hinting that he had been changing his driving style over the last few weekends only to find out there was nothing he could do to make a difference.

This weekend, all eyes will be on Russell's performance compared to Antonelli amid this software fix, and the 50-point gap between the two drivers in the fight for the drivers' championship.