Mercedes reveals the problem that hurt Russell and Antonelli in Belgium

Despite making a strong start, both Mercedes cars lacked pace compared to their Red Bull Racing and Ferrari rivals after Turn 1, losing several positions.

As a result, Russell ended up alongside Lewis Hamilton heading into Les Combes, where the two Britons made contact, ending the Mercedes driver's race. Antonelli then managed to re-pass Max Verstappen after the Dutchman had got ahead of him heading into Eau Rouge.

Toto Wolff explained after the race that all Mercedes-powered cars had suffered from the same issue in the opening phase. After the team's investigation at the factory, those suspicions were confirmed: the problem was caused by a software issue.

“Essentially, we've had a software issue with both of our cars, which basically meant that we hit the harvesting limit at Turn 1,” deputy technical director Simone Resta said.

“Basically, we had a boost issue on both cars from Turn 1 to Turn 5. This has affected both George and Kimi and we have seen both of them losing ground after a good start,” the Italian explained. It has now been confirmed to GPblog that the McLarens, the Alpines, and the Williams cars also experienced the same issue.

Mercedes has found a solution to the issue and expects that a similar problem will not occur during next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.