George Russell believes Mercedes have identified and fixed the technical problem that disrupted his Belgian Grand Prix, with the British driver insisting the experience has left him mentally stronger ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver endured a frustrating race at Spa-Francorchamps, where he complained over team radio about a loss of straight-line speed before later crashing out following contact with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
Russell has slipped to third in the drivers' championship, trailing teammate Kimi Antonelli by 50 points after the young Italian claimed his sixth victory of the season.
Mercedes identifies the problem
Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Russell revealed the team had traced the issue to a deeply embedded software calibration fault within the complex 2026 power unit.
"There was just something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code that was almost impossible to see unless you knew exactly what to look for," Russell explained.
"I'm glad we have found it. Of course it's frustrating what happened on Sunday, but now it's about looking forward."
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team@MercedesAMGF1Join him and @PET_Motorsports as he previews this weekend's race.
The Briton admitted the new Formula 1 regulations have made diagnosing technical problems far more difficult, with fewer sensors available and teams still learning the intricacies of the new power units.
Although he cannot guarantee the issue will never return, Russell said the data gives Mercedes confidence they have solved the problem ahead of the race at the Hungaroring.
"It's numbers on a computer screen, really. These new regulations have made it infinitely harder for the team to understand these kinds of issues."
Russell focused on F1 title fight
Despite the setback in Belgium, Russell remains optimistic about his championship chances, pointing out that he is actually closer to Antonelli than he was after the Monaco Grand Prix, when the gap stood at 68 points.
With more than half the season still remaining, the 28-year-old believes there is plenty of time to recover.
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team@MercedesAMGF1Russell also admitted the technical problems had affected his confidence behind the wheel, forcing him to focus on adapting his driving style rather than simply extracting maximum pace from the car.
"I definitely feel this is the most resilient I've ever been in my whole life," he said.
"I take pride in that as my mentality outside of the car."
He also acknowledged his emotional radio messages during the Belgian Grand Prix could have been handled better but said they reflected his frustration at the time.
"The whole team is standing by me and vice versa. I was very vocal about the issue before and during Spa, and ultimately we achieved what we wanted by finding there was a problem."
