Hungarian GP: George Russell forced to replace Mercedes power unit after water leak in qualifying | F1 News
George Russell was forced to change his power unit ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix after his engine cracked and caused a water leak in qualifying.
Russell finished a disappointing seventh in Sunday’s race, although he will start sixth ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli after the championship leader was handed a three-grid place penalty for speeding.
Russell stopped at the end of Q3 as the team discovered a drop in water pressure, meaning the Mercedes driver will take his fourth power unit for 2026 but will not be hit with a grid penalty as the change is on the same schedule and does not take more than the four engine limit.
Mercedes believe the water leak occurred after Russell ran over the edge of the exit at Turn 4 during his final run in Q3, where he did not improve his lap time.
“We lost water pressure and I had a leak. When I stopped on the road, the car was leaking water,” Russell, who is 50 points behind championship leader and teammate Kimi Antonelli, said. Sky Sports F1.
“Crossing fingers doesn’t affect anything in this race.”
It is the latest issue of unreliability at Mercedes which has affected both Russell and Antonelli in recent races.
Both drivers have lost significant points due to engine-related retirements this season but Russell was “at a loss for words” at the last race in Belgium after a power unit software bug led to a lack of straight line speed performance and a race collision with Lewis Hamilton at Spa-Francorchamps.
Mercedes have fixed the bug for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Mercedes driver George Russell spins after contact with Lewis Hamilton and his race is over on the opening lap, but was the Ferrari driver’s penalty fair?
“The software is the same in all the cars, and it was there in all the cars, but it affected George more than Kimi,” explained Mercedes technical director Simone Resta on Friday.
“We also need to remember that, if we compare their performance in the last few races, Kimi was on a new power unit, which, of course, is always better than a used power unit.
“That will change in the next races when we start having a new power unit on George’s side. So, there is a bit of everything. There is a bit of software, but there is also Kimi who is out of class with George’s program. He combines everything when you look at the final result.”
Russell: It would be nice to be on top
But, even before Saturday’s water leak in Hungary, Russell was out of step with team-mate Antonelli – a continuation of their pace gap during European events.
Russell will start one place ahead of Antonelli and will be looking to add to his 50-point lead but the British driver is unsure how easy it will be to enter the battle for the podium to minimize the damage.
“Perhaps we were too far on Friday but we had a strong race, which usually is not a car problem but a tire problem,” he said.
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Take a look back at some of the most amazing moments throughout the years at the Hungarian Grand Prix
“Time will tell in the race if we can strike a good balance between proper performance and race planning. We probably know that we can make the car too fast in qualifying and lose the race game.
“It’s going to be hard to pass. It would be nice to be on top.”
Sky Sports F1 Hungarian GP schedule
Sunday July 26
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Hungarian GP build-up: Sunday’s Grand Prix*
2pm: HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
16:00: Hungarian GP reaction: Checkered Flag*
5pm: Ted’s Note*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with Sunday’s race at 2pm and build-up from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
