George Russell’s miserable 2026 Formula 1 season continued at Spa-Francorchamps, where a battery failure and first-lap contact ended his Belgian Grand Prix before it truly began.
Russell had qualified third and made a strong start, tucking in right behind Max Verstappen after a clean first corner at La Source.
However, the Mercedes battery failed to recharge as Russell braked into the hairpin, leaving him severely underpowered on the long Kemmel straight that follows Raidillon.
“I made a good start. I made a great first corner and I was tucked up right behind Verstappen, but for whatever reason, the battery decided not to recharge at Turn 1,” Russell told media including Autosport.
Without battery power, Russell had no ability to defend his position against the chasing pack surging up the famous uphill section toward Les Combes.
“The battery didn’t charge and I exited the first corner 35% down. And because it didn’t charge, I also had a boost problem. The turbo didn’t sort itself out, so I had no power,” Russell explained.
He reached the top of Eau Rouge completely drained, with zero percent battery charge remaining, and was immediately overtaken by several cars including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
“I got to the top of Eau Rouge with 0% on the battery. Quite frankly, it was dangerous. I got swamped by three cars,” Russell said bluntly, making clear his frustration extended well beyond the incident itself.
Hamilton, approaching Les Combes, took the inside line into the right-hander but understeered into Russell’s right rear corner, spinning the Briton into the gravel and ending his race immediately.
Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision, but Russell was measured in his response to the contact itself, reserving his strongest criticism for the mechanical failure that put him in danger.
“Me and Lewis, honestly, I think it was a race incident. He didn’t do it on purpose. He was more to blame than I was. But he didn’t do anything reckless,” Russell said.
The real anger, Russell made clear, stemmed from the circumstances created by Mercedes’ reliability failure, not from Hamilton’s driving specifically.
“That was one of those things I was most angry about, that I was in that position in the first place. I was in a great position after Turn 1. I was ready to fight the two guys ahead of me up to Turn 5. Instead, I got swamped by three drivers,” he said.
It is the latest in a string of painful setbacks for the British driver throughout a turbulent 2026 campaign, and Russell appeared visibly emotionally fatigued when reflecting on the situation.
When asked how he is coping with the repeated disappointments of this season, his answer was telling: “I’m numb to the disappointment now. When it happens so often, you just get used to it.”