Russell discloses shocking Mercedes statistic as frustrations boil over
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
George Russell has revealed that he experienced problems in 14 of the 20 races held so far this season, admitting that Mercedes must investigate why so many setbacks have affected his side of the garage.
The Briton arrives at the Brazilian Grand Prix following another frustrating weekend in Mexico, where he qualified second and believed he had a genuine opportunity to challenge for victory. Starting from the front row gave him a chance to attack for the lead into Turn 1, but another issue outside his control prevented him from capitalising on his strong starting position.
The setback added to an increasingly difficult campaign for Russell, who has watched teammate Kimi Antonelli secure the world championship while his own title challenge was repeatedly disrupted by technical problems.
Russell questions Mercedes' repeated technical setbacks
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Speaking to the media ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Russell explained that he reviewed every race of his season alongside his engineers, uncovering a concerning pattern.
"Post Mexico, I was just more disappointed with how the race unfolded. It felt like a good opportunity to fight for the victory, starting P2 in Mexico. Always a great chance to go for the lead at Turn 1, and then just another race with something outside of your control was very difficult to accept."
"I went through every race this season with my engineers, and we've only had six races this season where we had not an issue. So 14 of those races, we've had things that have been what we thought was bad luck, but we need to start questioning things more deeply when it's happening so often and especially on our side."
Photo: Race Pictures
Russell also highlighted the complexity of the current power units, although he stopped short of suggesting that the regulations themselves were responsible for his difficulties.
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"On the face of it, I didn't really have any issues with the power units this year, but I think the concept was fine. It's just the complexity of it. It's just been enormous, and the amount of issues that we're seeing up and down the grid is immense."
The Mercedes driver pointed out that similar problems have affected other cars, including Pierre Gasly's, while Antonelli has also encountered technical difficulties at various stages of the campaign.
"There was one other Mercedes car that had it, which was Gasly. So it's not like I am the only one getting all of these issues and Kimi's had some issues as well at certain points. But the majority of the things have unfortunately come on our side."
Despite the repeated setbacks, Russell insisted that simply blaming bad luck would be the wrong approach. He believes both he and his team must examine whether better preparation could have prevented some of the problems.
"I think it's also important not to be naive and just blame luck on not being victorious. I think you need to look at yourself hard in the mirror, think where you could have done a better job. If these issues have been any contribution of lack of preparation on your side, I believe it is, but we need to go through that with my team, and things will come good again. I've got no doubt about it."
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Russell's difficult season has now been compounded by another setback, with the Mercedes driver set to serve a five-place grid penalty this weekend. Mercedes has opted to replace his internal combustion engine, exceeding his permitted allocation for the season. Russell already received a grid penalty in Singapore and confirmed that another sanction was inevitable before the end of the campaign.
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