League: F1 Sport: Motorsports Country: Global Category: Transactions

George Russell's telemetry shows disparity in Mercedes' performance

Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Jul 22, 2026, 10:00 AM

Last updated Jul 22, 2026

George Russell's telemetry shows disparity in Mercedes' performance

Summary

During the Belgian Grand Prix, George Russell collided with Lewis Hamilton on Lap 1, ending his race. FIA stewards issued Hamilton a five-second penalty for the incident. Russell expressed frustration over a battery issue, claiming he was '35% down' exiting Turn 1, which left him vulnerable to competitors. Mercedes' Toto Wolff attributed the problem to a fleet-wide battery glitch affecting all Mercedes drivers. However, telemetry analysis by Jolyon Palmer revealed that Russell's teammate, Kimi Antonelli, had better energy deployment, contradicting the team's defense. With the grid approaching the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes needs to investigate the performance issues with their power unit.

Source Links

Yahoo Sports

Key Details

•Russell collided with Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix
•Hamilton received a five-second penalty for the incident
•Russell criticized a battery issue affecting his performance
•Telemetry shows discrepancies between Russell and Antonelli's energy use
•Mercedes faces pressure to resolve power unit issues ahead of Hungary

Latest Updates

10:00 AMYahoo Sports — George Russell Was Right All Along: Telemetry Analysis Busts Mercedes’ Excuses

What they're saying

"
George Russell’s Belgian Grand Prix went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye, culminating in a race-ending Lap 1 collision with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at Les Combes. While the FIA stewards handed Hamilton a five-second penalty for…
— Yahoo Sports

Related Teams & Leagues

Red Bull Racing Mercedes McLaren F1 Motorsports