'Mercedes still looking for cause of Russell's engine blowout'

George Russell crashed out in Australia due to reliability problems. The Briton had a great start to the race and was in the lead, but an unfortunate red flag and a broken engine meant it was still a weekend to forget for Russell.

George started the Australian Grand Prix from the second starting spot after once again beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. At turn one, the young Briton immediately took over the lead from pole-starting Max Verstappen. Some bad luck with the red flag saw Russell fall back to seventh position, but in the end it all didn't matter: the Mercedes engine in the back of the W14 failed and Russell had to stop early.

With flames coming out of the car, Russell had to park his W14 at the end of the pit lane. According to the usually well-informed Auto, Motor und Sport it is still not clear exactly what went wrong in the Mercedes driver's engine. In Brixworth, where the Mercedes engine factory is located, the exact cause is still under investigation, reports the German source.

The reliability of the Mercedes engine does not seem to be great this season. In Bahrain, Lando Norris' McLaren had major engine problems. As a result, the combustion engine, turbo, MGU-K and MGU-H were damaged beyond repair and a grid penalty seems inevitable for the Briton. In Saudi Arabia, Lance Stroll had to retire his Aston Martin early, here the Canadian's MGU-H failed. In Australia, Russell had a problem with his Mercedes engine, with flames even visible. So, three problems in three races for the German engine manufacturer.