‘Toughest battle I’ve had psychologically’ – Russell opens up on title fight struggles ahead of Hungarian GP

George Russell has admitted ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that recent setbacks in this year’s title race have made it the “toughest battle psychologically I’ve had”, with Mercedes discovering a software issue from the previous round.

Russell’s title hopes took another blow last weekend during the Belgian Grand Prix, with the Briton being eliminated on the opening lap after a collision with Lewis Hamilton.

With Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli taking his sixth win of the season, the margin between the pair sits at 50 points heading to the Hungaroring this weekend.

“I think it’s probably fair to say it is the toughest battle psychologically I’ve had, just because there have been so many ups and downs combined with things in my control that haven’t been great,” said Russell during Thursday’s media day in Hungary.

“But also things outside of my control that have hampered progression. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I feel proud of my resilience. Three days after Spa, I feel positive and excited for the weekend.

“I’m looking at the future prospects and not the past disappointment. I guess that’s the good thing with racing – you’ve often got an opportunity just around the corner.”

Russell’s opening lap retirement in Belgium was a direct consequence of having lost several positions along the straight after running out of battery power.

Team Principal Toto Wolff confirmed that all Mercedes power units suffered an issue, with Antonelli not as badly impacted due to lifting off briefly and downshifting through Eau Rouge.

Mercedes investigated the issue ahead of this weekend, with Russell confident that the problem has been resolved.

“We think it was a software bug,” said Russell, who had struggled for straight-line speed compared with Antonelli all weekend.

“It wasn’t the driving style that was contributing to the loss of power, so that’s something at least. I think Spa gave us the right pointers on where to look for the problem. It’s like picking a needle out of a haystack, really.

“Suddenly, when you know where you’ve got to look, maybe you can find the problem. Thankfully, I think we have. Time will tell, but it wasn’t an easy couple of weeks.”