Mercedes has identified several areas for improvement for George Russell after a discreet start to his weekend at the Belgian GP of Formula 1. This Friday, the British driver had a challenging day, finishing the second practice session in eighth place, with a time of 1m47.229s, over 1.2 seconds behind his teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
This time, Antonelli led the sessions with a time of 1m45.944s, a record obtained at one-third of the second session. Although Russell has narrowed the points gap with Antonelli, who currently leads the championship with a 25-point advantage, the Briton acknowledges that he must improve his performance to stay in the title fight.
The session data indicates that Russell struggled in the Les Combes section, where he lost time at the exit of corner 7 by lifting his foot off the accelerator. This lack of speed was also noticeable in the segment between Pouhon and Fagnes, where he seemed to decrease his energy accumulation earlier than Antonelli. Moreover, Russell had a lower maximum speed between the Blanchimont and Bus Stop chicane sections.
According to Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ track engineering director, Russell’s tires were not in the best condition at the start of the lap, and this aspect, along with a problematic first session in which the team did not achieve the right conditions, affected his performance. Shovlin explained that it is essential for Russell to learn from mistakes to improve his competitiveness during the weekend.
The complexity of the new 2026 Formula 1 engines, with stricter energy accumulation requirements, has made errors in corner speed have a significant effect on straight lines, which has been particularly affected at fast circuits like Spa-Francorchamps. Shovlin also commented that the initial practice sessions were disorganized, but the team has the opportunity to improve before the races this weekend.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
