George Russell reveals Mercedes are p****d off after Toto Wolff gives 'too many mistakes' verdict

Toto Wolff in conversation with George Russell in the paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

George Russell reveals Mercedes are p****d off after Toto Wolff gives 'too many mistakes' verdict

Mercedes aren't as far ahead in the championship as they maybe should be

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 30 July 2026 18:43

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George Russell has claimed that his Mercedes F1 team are just as 'p****d off' as he is with how the start of his season has unfolded.

Russell has suffered several reliability issues in the first half of 2026, as his Mercedes car has given him a multitude of problems as he tries to chase a first world championship title.

In Canada, Russell was forced to retire from the lead of the race with a power unit problem, while in Belgium, an issue with his straight line speed saw him swallowed up by several drivers on the Kemmel Straight, before colliding with Lewis Hamilton and ending his participation in the race on lap one.

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The Brit's Mercedes car then went into anti-stall off the line at the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out, seeing him drop all the way down to 21st having started the race in sixth.

While his team-mate has also experienced a fair share of problems with his W17, Russell is the driver who finds himself 59 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the battle for the championship.

Heading into the annual summer shutdown, both Russell and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have lamented their team's reliability issues.

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Considering they have won eight of the first 11 grands prix so far in 2026 - and taken 10 of 11 pole positions - a 72-point lead in the constructors' championship is pretty underwhelming for Mercedes.

They have regularly only had one car scoring points, and there is a real feeling that they have had their most dominant part of the season, as the other three 'big' teams look to catch up in the second half.

"Obviously the problems are happening, but the whole team feels it as well," Russell told Sky Sports F1 after the Hungarian GP. "They're as p****d off as I am with how it's unfolded.

"We need to look at ourselves and ensure it's nothing we're doing wrong that is contributing to these errors. Oscar [Piastri] had his [gearbox] thing as well. It's not like we're the only one, but it does feel like it is happening substantially more to me than others.

"Hopefully it swings around. I don't wish any bad luck on anyone. But I've never had a season like this in my whole career, let alone my F1 career."

Russell is not the only one unhappy with Mercedes' reliability issues. Wolff said earlier this year that the team would struggle to challenge for both world championships if the issues continued.

"We just can't compete for a championship if every second race a car is losing fat points," said the team principal at the Barcelona GP last month. "It's one and then the other and to finish first, first you have to finish. That's just not good enough."

Then after another issue for Russell in Hungary last weekend, Wolff said: "He went off the throttle and it popped down, so I'm really not happy about too many mistakes that happened.

"So that was the reason, and then he drove very well. He went through the traffic easy and then recovered, I think, the maximum points that he could have recovered."

Though the Silver Arrows must now adhere to the mandatory annual 14-day shutdown, the team will surely be raring to go when they return to the factory to prevent further reliability issues cropping up at next month's Dutch GP.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Toto Wolff