George Russell’s rocky world championship hopes received a boost as Mercedes discovered the mystery glitch ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The British racer crashed out on the first lap in Belgium last weekend after dramatically losing pace on the Kemmel Straight and tagging Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
The malfunctioning software that led to his retirement was separate from intermittent failures that cost him up to six-tenths per lap in practice.
A despairing Russell likened the initial gremlins to driving with an arm tied behind his back, before ranting over his radio when his race was cut short the next day. ‘Un-f***ing-acceptable,’ he screamed.
Now the 28-year-old, speaking in Budapest, revealed that work back at the factory in Brackley has uncovered the problems. He said: ‘These new power units are exceptionally complex and there was something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code (in the electric component) that was almost impossible to see unless you knew exactly what to look for.
‘I am glad we found it.’
George Russell’s World Championship hopes have received a big boost after Mercedes found a mystery glitch holding him back
Despite having slipped to third in the title standings, not only 50 points behind his team-mate Kimi Antonelli but five back from Hamilton, he insisted: ‘I definitely feel this is the most resilient I have been my whole life, and I take pride in my mentality out of the car.
‘My F2 season was a little bit like this. It felt like one thing after another. You bounce back and then you get knocked down again. Three days later I’m feeling good. I am glad there are some positive answers from the factory. Eyes are looking forward now.’
Russell stopped short of apologising for his heated radio outburst, but wanted to play the conciliatory team man.
‘We all hold ourselves to the highest of levels,’ he said. ‘My emotions were exceptionally high because of getting knocked out of the race. Ninety-nine per cent of words over the radio are pure frustration and hot-headedness.
‘I am the first person to look at myself in the mirror and try to improve. We work together. The whole team is standing by me and vice versa.’
