George Russell’s Formula 1 World Championship hopes suffered another major setback at Spa-Francorchamps as his Belgian Grand Prix ended in the gravel on the very first lap, following contact with his former Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

Although the FIA stewards deemed Hamilton responsible and handed the Ferrari driver a five-second penalty, Russell insisted that he only found himself in a vulnerable position because of a malfunctioning power unit that left him exposed to cars behind.

Even before stepping out of the car, Russell vented his frustration over the power unit issue in a heated radio exchange with his team, concluding with an outburst saying, “Unacceptable – unf**king acceptable, this whole weekend...”

On the same day that Kimi Antonelli took a well-executed victory to extend his championship lead, Russell’s failure to score points proved to be a significant blow for the British driver.

Given the circumstances and emotions involved immediately after being forced off the track, Russell’s strong words were perhaps understandable, though they likely did not sit well with Team Principal Toto Wolff and the Mercedes management.

Just as he had experienced at Silverstone, Russell was again frustrated over the Spa weekend by a lack of straight-line speed compared to Antonelli. The team could not provide a clear explanation, though it appeared to be linked to the complexities of the 2026-spec power unit, which has consistently caused headaches for drivers.

It was another power unit glitch that caught Russell out on the opening lap, dropping him into the clutches of his competitors.

“I made a good start and had a great first corner, right behind Verstappen,” Russell explained to Road & Track when asked about the incident. “But for some reason, the battery didn’t recharge at Turn One. I came out of the corner 35% down on power. Because it didn’t recharge, I also had a boost issue – the turbo didn’t sort itself out, so I had no power. By the time I reached the top of Eau Rouge, the battery was at 0%. Honestly, it was dangerous. I got swamped by three cars. I shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with. That’s what makes me most angry.”

Hamilton found himself in an unfortunate position at the end of the straight and was unable to avoid contact with Russell, sending him into the gravel trap. To his credit, Russell refrained from heavily blaming his ex-teammate.

“The incident with Lewis was, honestly, a racing incident,” the Mercedes driver said. “He didn’t do it deliberately. Yes, he was more to blame than me, but it wasn’t reckless. It was just one of those things. I’m mainly frustrated that I was in that situation at all. I came out of Turn 1 in a great position, ready to fight the two cars ahead up to Turn 5, and instead got swallowed up by three drivers.”

Russell clarified that the power unit issue was unrelated to the earlier troubles he’d faced that weekend, calling it just the latest in a series of frustrating technical setbacks. “This time it was something completely different. But it’s every day, isn’t it?” he remarked.

Reflecting on his season’s struggles, he added, “I’ve become numb to the disappointment now. When it happens so often, you just get used to it…”

Later, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff confirmed that Russell was correct in pointing out a power deficit, noting that it wasn’t limited to his car. “All Mercedes engines had a lack of energy out of Turn 1,” Wolff said. “It wasn’t just George. It affected him more than Kimi, but Kimi had the issue too to some extent. That’s why he ended up P5 instead of P3 at the end of the straight. Then came the collision with Lewis. It’s unfortunate – losing points for him and in the Constructors’ Championship. It feels like every weekend we have one car that doesn’t finish.”

Wolff also empathised with Russell’s emotional radio messages and his claim of feeling “numb” to ongoing problems. “You have to understand that a driver is very emotional in such situations,” said Wolff. “But as a Formula 1 driver, you’re part of an elite group. Driving a Mercedes is an honour. Sometimes we fail ourselves – not just the driver, but the whole team. We’re losing valuable constructor points in our fight against Ferrari. I hope that numbness fades. We’ll do our best to restore positivity and optimism.”

As for Hamilton, his weekend had already gone off track following a heavy crash in FP3 that compromised his qualifying session, leaving him fifth on the grid when a better result was possible. That misfortune placed him behind Russell at the wrong moment when the Mercedes driver lost power.

“Overall, it was a tough weekend,” Hamilton admitted when speaking to Road & Track. “I take responsibility for my incident yesterday, which affected the setup and put us out of position in qualifying. With the right setup, we could’ve been fighting for second or third. That put me further back, and when George seemed to lose power, I went around the outside and we had a small contact. I got damage, and it’s really unfortunate his race ended that way. Nobody wants to see that. I did my best with the damaged car, and then there was the penalty.”

He added, “The last thing you ever want is to collide with your teammate or a former team you deeply respect, especially someone like George. But it happened.”

Hamilton served his five-second penalty during his pit stop, just moments after his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc completed his own stop. In the confusion, Hamilton left the pit box too early and accidentally struck a mechanic who was adjusting the front wing to compensate for understeer caused by the earlier damage.

Thankfully, the mechanic wasn’t injured, though the wing adjustment was not completed, forcing Hamilton to continue with a compromised front end. “We lost a lot of downforce,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know the exact numbers, but the left side of the floor was gone. During the final stint, we couldn’t adjust the front wing because of the double stack. I’m just grateful my mechanic wasn’t hurt.”

Despite the setbacks, Hamilton recovered to finish fourth. However, it was a weekend where he could have joined runner-up and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc on the podium. Still, his result allowed him to move up to second in the championship standings, ahead of Russell, who now trails Antonelli by 50 points. With 10 rounds completed in the 22-race season, Antonelli’s momentum looks increasingly difficult to stop.