Russell blames Mercedes power issue for collision with Hamilton

George Russell blames Mercedes power issue for Belgian GP collision with Lewis Hamilton after huge F1 title race blow George Russell retired on the first lap of the Belgian GP after a collision with Lewis Hamilton; Russell said a power issue with his Mercedes left him vulnerable to the incident; watch every session of the Hungarian Grand Prix from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1 Sunday 19 July 2026 16:22, UK George Russell says a power issue with his Mercedes was to blame for leaving him vulnerable to a first-lap collision with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton that took him out of the Belgian Grand Prix. Russell started third on the grid and retained his position through the first corner but was then passed by Hamilton and left side-by-side with McLaren's Oscar Piastri as they came to the end of the lengthy Kemmel Straight. Russell broke late and attempted to reclaim third back around the outside of Hamilton, but the pair made contact which spun the Mercedes into the gravel and out of the race. - Belgian GP result | F1 2026 standings | F1 2026 Calendar - Download the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more📱 - Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 Despite Hamilton being given a five-second penalty by the stewards for causing the collision, Russell told Sky Sports F1 he was more frustrated with his car than his former team-mate. "I just got totally swallowed up down the straight," said Russell, who dropped 50 points behind his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli after the championship leader won the race. "I lost three positions down the straight down into Turn Five and then the incident was a racing incident. "Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he (Hamilton) could have braked a bit more. The incident shouldn't have happened if I had the speed down the straight. "Very, very disappointed." The incident came after Russell had bemoaned a lack of power costing him in qualifying on Saturday, when he was more than half a second off pole-sitter Antonelli in fourth. Russell has appeared confused in recent weeks as to what is causing him to generally be unable to match Antonelli's pace. He said on Thursday's media day at Spa that he was working on changing his driving style as he believes that was costing him time in 2026's new generation of cars, but on Saturday revealed that he had changed his mind and no longer thought his driving style was the issue. Asked how Mercedes can get to the bottom of the issue, Russell added: "I appreciate everyone is working hard to solve the problem, but I'm stood here [in the TV interview pen] on lap five of the race. "It felt like I was in a good position to fight for the lead up to Turn One and then, suddenly, no power and it's all gone." Formula 1 heads straight to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime [Image text:] DHI I CROWDSTRIKE I I TCE Signi