F1 expert breaks down what actually caused George Russell’s crash at the Belgian Grand Prix
An F1 expert has shared what might have caused George Russell’s crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver’s chance at the drivers’ championship took another hit when he had to retire just seconds into the race after a collision with Lewis Hamilton.
Russell crashed on the first lap after getting clipped by the seven-time champ going into Les Combes. Hamilton got a five-second penalty for causing the incident. Even though Hamilton was at fault, Russell didn’t blame him. Instead, he was upset about a battery problem in his car, which he mentioned in a frank radio message.
“I’m out [of the race],” Russell said angrily. “What the heck happened with the battery down the straight? I had no battery at all racing down the straight. This whole weekend has been really frustrating.”
At 28, Russell faced a tough day in Belgium, falling further behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli in the championship race, as the 19-year-old Antonelli earned his sixth win this season. Russell sounded fed up, saying he’s almost “numb to the disappointment” after dropping 60 points behind Antonelli.
More analysis after the crash showed that Russell’s car had a problem that made it get stuck at 308 km/h, so it couldn’t speed up until the end of the straight. According to Formula Data Analysis on X, Russell went through Eau Rouge/Raidillon in eighth gear, while a McLaren driver used seventh gear there. This might have confused the car’s system, causing it to lose power because the engine wasn’t running at full strength.
Russell looked really down after retiring again, but Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said the whole team supports him during this tough time. “All drivers go through hard times,” Wolff said. “George has his way of handling it, and I’m trying to help. I’ve known him a long time and understand how frustrating it is. The team is 100% behind him.”
Wolff also said Mercedes is focused on getting the most points possible, no matter which driver is ahead, as they are still favorites to win the constructors’ championship against Ferrari and Red Bull. “We don’t want to risk losing because of mistakes like what happened in Barcelona,” he explained. “Since then, we always give full priority to winning the race. Whether it’s Kimi or George up front, that’s the priority. This is just as much about the team championship as the drivers’ one.”
Russell will hope things go better at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, the last race before the summer break.