Mercedes have made software changes ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix in a bid to fix the persistent problem plaguing George Russell's car. The Brit complained of power unit deployment deficiencies during each of the last two race weekends and blamed his lap one crash at Spa-Francorchamps last Sunday on that engine issue.
He fumed that he had run out of energy much earlier along the long high-speed section from Eau Rouge and Raidillon to the Les Combes chicane at the end of the Kemmel Straight. That saw him overtaken by multiple cars and left him in the position where he was tagged by Lewis Hamilton and sent spinning into the gravel, ending his race.
Russell's anger directed at engine issue
His anger was directed not at Hamilton but at the engine issue which had put him in that position. "What the f*** happened with the SoC [State of Charge] down the straight?" he shouted aggressively over the radio while beached in the gravel. "I had no f***ing battery down the straight! Guys, unacceptable. Un-f***ing-acceptable this whole weekend."
Russell was not the only driver with a Mercedes engine who suffered on that opening lap, according to team boss Toto Wolff. The Austrian said after the race that "all Mercedes cars" had struggled to harvest energy in turn one, the team later discovering that a software error had affected both Silver Arrows.
Driving style differences
But the difference on the day was based on driving styles as Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli both took Eau Rouge differently. The data shows the Brit had his foot flat on the floor heading through that iconic corner while Antonelli lifted after being overtaken by Max Verstappen. While that slowed him momentarily, it left him with more power to use along the Kemmel Straight.
That saw him get to a higher top speed than Russell, along with most other cars at the front, which helped him to retake the lead while the other Mercedes slipped back and was eventually punted off the road by Hamilton's Ferrari. That data backs Wolff's theory that half of the problem on Russell's car had been caused by software, and that the other half was due to differing driving styles between the two Mercedes racers.
Software changes made for Hungarian GP
In any case, Mercedes have addressed the issue by making engine deployment software changes for this weekend's action. The Hungaroring is not as dependent on power as Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone but, in any case, the hope is that the bug in the code which was hampering the Mercedes power unit's ability to recharge the power pack has now been eradicated.
Regardless, what happened on the opening lap at Spa was more evidence that Russell will have to change his driving style in order to get the best out of these power units. Antonelli has done a far better job of it for the most part this year and that is why the 19-year-old is the one leading the way in the title race.
