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George Russell said the lack of power from his Mercedes at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix left him “slower than a Formula 2 car.”
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He retired on the first lap of the race after tangling with Lewis Hamilton at Les Combes. Russell was passed by several drivers on the long run down the Kemmel straight which leads to the corner.
“I came out of turn one and I had no power,” Russell told Viaplay after the race. “I got to the top of Eau Rouge with zero percent battery and I was going slower than a Formula 2 car and I got overtaken by three drivers. It left me totally vulnerable.”
Russell has previously complained about differences in the power deployment between his car and that of team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who won the race.
“I’m getting used to this disappointment, unfortunately,” said Russell, who failed to score in a grand prix for the third time this year.
Antonelli said he has had similar problems with his power unit this season.
“It can happen,” he said. “Being honest, with George this weekend there was a slight loss, and sometimes you just don’t understand. I had the same in Australia, for example.”
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The complexity of the new power units makes it difficult to tell how far the driver is influencing the energy delivery, said Antonelli. “It can be a little bit down to driving, but sometimes the system just does something a little bit different,” he explained.
“It’s very complicated. For the team, you have to appreciate the work, because the system is very complicated. Of course they’re trying to make things a bit easier, but sometimes it’s hard to get it perfect.
“Also, with the driving, sometimes, especially on tracks like this that are very energy-demanding, if you start driving differently, then for the system it’s a bit crazy. So it is tricky.
“But I have to agree that this weekend, for George, there was a slight issue. I’m sure it will be fixed for Budapest.”
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