(Motorsport-Total.com) – Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff emphasizes that the team “needs to understand” George Russell’s top speed problem on the straights at Silverstone. As the Austrian confirms, Mercedes is investigating the deficits on the straights that slowed Russell down in qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
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Russell qualified at Silverstone almost four tenths of a second behind his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He lost most of this time on the Hangar Straight, where Antonelli was on average about six kilometers per hour faster.
Both Mercedes drivers seemed to use the energy of their hybrid system in the previous section through Maggotts and Becketts in a similar way, which is why the telemetry showed no obvious difference there. The top speed deficit was already noticeable in the sprint qualifying, albeit to a lesser extent, while the difference in the race with around three to four kilometers per hour was also significantly smaller.
The search for the culprit
After the race, Wolff explained that the team needs to investigate the problem more closely, as no obvious difference was visible at the engine level.
“He had a problem on the straights all weekend,” said Wolff. “We couldn’t find anything on the engine. It must have been some kind of mechanical situation, whether it was the slipstream or something else. But the data definitely confirmed that he was missing something, it’s just very hard to identify.”
“In the race it was much better. We didn’t see it anymore then. But nevertheless, it’s something we need to understand.”
Russell needs to improve
Russell himself had already commented after qualifying on Saturday: “We’ve been struggling with top speed on the straights all weekend and don’t know why. Compared to all the other Mercedes cars, we lose six km/h in the last sector and three kilometers per hour in the middle sector. That makes a few tenths over a lap compared to the other Mercedes cars, so I really don’t know what the reason is.”
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Where George Russell lost the most points in the 2026 World Championship battle
“The team is working extremely hard to understand it. This morning we thought we had found the problem because it was already there yesterday, but it wasn’t – that doesn’t make things easier. When I lose five kilometers per hour on the straight, you know you can’t fight.”
On Sunday evening, after Russell was still able to save second place behind Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc despite an additional pit stop due to a slow puncture, the Brit admitted that he also needs to improve his own performance to challenge championship leader Antonelli.
Russell grateful but realistic
“The feeling was good, but the lap times were slow. And as I said, things contributed that were out of my control, but also things that I had in my own hands,” he said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix next weekend, where he is 25 points behind Antonelli.
“I still struggle to understand this car. I will probably leave this weekend – and although I am extremely grateful to be on the podium – more dissatisfied than probably in Canada when I retired while leading.”
“If I want to fight for the world championship, performances have to get better. I have to get better. I have to work better with my team. We have to maximize everything. We now have a close fight with Ferrari, so it’s not just Kimi and me, Lewis is also still very close. We have to improve there.”
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