George Russell Reveals Shock 'Big Meeting' At Mercedes After Belgian GP

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
British driver George Russell revealed that Mercedes held a meeting at the team's factory on Monday to determine the cause of the issues with the W16.
Over the past three races, Mercedes has failed to reach the top four, resulting in the team's slide.
The Brackley-based team secured a double podium and a race win in Canada, alongside a sprint race victory in Miami.
Since starting the European swing, Mercedes hasn't been close to matching that performance, not even sniffing a podium.
George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team arrives in the Paddock prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 26, 2025...
George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team arrives in the Paddock prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 26, 2025 in Spa, Belgium. More
Photo byRussell revealed that the team will meet at the factory and figure out what has caused these problems, which seemingly came out of nowhere.
"Yeah, it was pretty underwhelming, to be honest," the Brit told Sky Sports F1.
"Because we tend to favour the cooler conditions. So we couldn't have really asked for better weather for us. But we've just had no pace recently. We need to sit down, all of us.
"We're going to have a big meeting this week with all the designers and engineers. To sort of understand the decisions we've made in recent weeks or months. And why we've gone backwards. So hoping for some improvements in Hungary."
Russell finished fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix, but he did get lucky after Lewis Hamilton qualified poorly.
Hamilton showed much better pace in the race, and had he not been so far behind at the start, Russell's spot would have been in danger.
At Silverstone, Mercedes were truly nowhere as Russell got P10 in his home race.
Things are far worse for Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old lacks confidence in the car and appears to be dealing with immense pressure.
He has failed to qualify for Q2 on several occasions and looked visibly distraught during a media session after qualifying in Spa.
"Kimi's had a few tough weekends, but he's getting a lot of engineering support from Bono, and the engineers on that side of the garage," Shovlin told the media.
"We as a team are well aware that the thing that we need to focus on is the weaknesses in the car, not the bits that Kimi's struggling with.
"The fact is that George is leaning on all his experience, quite a bit of it, driving difficult cars to get the qualifying laps out of it."
Mercedes will have three weeks after the upcoming race in Hungary, due to the summer break in August, which should allow the team to reset and regain its bearings.
For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.