Russell on Mercedes straight-line performance issue
George Russell says a “serious issue” with the straight-line performance of his Mercedes is leaving him “powerless” and making his title fight with team-mate Kimi Antonelli “impossible” after qualifying fourth for the Belgian Grand Prix. Russell said: "There's a serious issue at play here and the team are working so hard to resolve it. But every lap I do, when I see I'm down anywhere from 0.2-0.6secs in the straights, it's pretty infuriating. You're watching (the display) on your steering wheel, just losing speed when you're full gas in the straight. You feel powerless. So, we don't know what's going on. Battling against Kimi is very tough in a fair fight. When we are in this situation, it's impossible."
Russell 'infuriated' by straight-line issue that leaves him 'powerless'
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Related stories (4)
“Serious issue at play” – Why George Russell changed his mind about deficit to Kimi Antonelli
Russell still baffled by ‘infuriating' straight-line speed deficit
The mystery Mercedes F1 problem 'infuriating' Russell
Fighting Antonelli with straight-line speed deficit “impossible” – Russell
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Verstappen on Hadjar's Q3 tow in Belgian GP qualifying
Max Verstappen says a tow from team-mate Isack Hadjar in Q3 was key to him qualifying second for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen said: "And then, of course, Isack in Q3 helped me a lot with the tow in the final sector. That's why, of course, I'm sitting up in here. Otherwise, it could have easily been P6, because the gap behind was so close. So yeah, thank you to him for that. So yeah, I think as a team, we did everything we could."
Max Verstappen reveals the places he gained from Isack Hadjar tow in Belgium GP qualifying
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Sainz on how F1's 2026 rules were signed off
Carlos Sainz questioned how Formula 1’s 2026 technical rules were signed off after the early simulations, as he criticised the cars’ performance at Spa-Francorchamps during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. Sainz said: "But what I say is, whoever saw these simulations in 2022, 2023 and look at it and say, how can we even accept that? It needs to review what happened there because it should have never happened. But now we're here, we're having some exciting races, the sport is still growing, so time to move on."
Carlos Sainz queries F1's support of 2026 rules after early simulations: "How can we even accept that?"
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Antonelli on starting Belgian GP from pole with Verstappen alongside
Kimi Antonelli says starting the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position alongside Max Verstappen “is not going to be straightforward” at Spa-Francorchamps, where the race lead can be vulnerable on the run up to Les Combes. Antonelli said: "With Max next to me it's not going to be straightforward. It's going to be important to get a good start and then be ahead into Turn Five."
'Not sure I'd want to be on pole!' - Antonelli's poisoned chalice in Verstappen start fight?
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2026 F1 Belgian GP Qualifying analysis by Peter Windsor
Tom Hart set for Verstappen engineer role
Max Verstappen is set to have Tom Hart as his new Red Bull race engineer after the team reached an agreement to release Hart from a deal to join Williams, according to de Telegraaf. Hart has been Verstappen’s performance engineer since January 2020 and is being lined up as the replacement for Gianpiero Lambiase, who is due to leave Red Bull for a senior role at McLaren from the 2028 season.
Red Bull appoint new Max Verstappen race engineer after Gianpiero Lambiase exit
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Stella on McLaren and Verstappen rumours
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team would need to “introduce the third car” to sign four-time world champion Max Verstappen, when asked about rumours of talks between McLaren and the Dutch driver at the Belgian Grand Prix. Stella said: "I said before that we talk about the four-time world champion. It will be always a fascinating opportunity, but we need to introduce the third car. So you don't have to talk to me. We have to take a higher political level, and when we'll be in condition to do so, then we will consider this option."
McLaren on Max Verstappen: ‘We'd need a third car for him’
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Vowles on transparency with Sainz and Albon
Williams team principal James Vowles says “absolute transparency” is the cornerstone of how he maintains Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon’s trust during the team’s rebuilding phase. Vowles said: "Step one is like any relationship: transparency. So, from the first signs of trouble around about October last year, he was the first person I called. Alex was the second person I called. The order is not significant; that is just the sequence in which I did it. I want to make sure that they have full transparency on what's gone well, what's gone wrong, and what we're doing to correct it as soon as possible before anything else is made public."
James Vowles details how Williams maintains Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon's trust
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Lindblad on his best qualifying feeling of the season
Arvid Lindblad says qualifying eighth for the Belgian Grand Prix was “one of the best feelings” of his rookie season, after taking his highest grid position so far in his upgraded Racing Bulls. Lindblad said: "It was a really good session. From FP1 I felt good with the car. Honestly, it has been one of the best feelings I have had this year, with Barcelona and Canada, and Melbourne. So, I don't know, the team have done a really good job to give us a good package and yeah, from the beginning of Qualifying I felt good, I felt on it."
Lindblad celebrates ‘best feeling' of qualifying P8 in Spa
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