George Russell heads to the Hungaroring this weekend licking his wounds after a Belgian Grand Prix to forget, and with it being the final race before the summer break, the pressure is on to end the first half of 2026 on a high.
Spa was a disaster. A battery deployment failure on the opening lap left Russell a sitting duck on the Kemmel Straight, before contact with Lewis Hamilton at Les Combes sent him spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
It was his second DNF of the season, and teammate Kimi Antonelli's victory stretched the gap between them to 50 points. Russell, now third in the standings on 154 points, was visibly furious, calling Mercedes' performance "unacceptable."
The good news? Russell has historically thrived in Budapest, claiming his maiden pole there in 2022 and finishing on the podium in both 2022 and 2025. The tight, twisty Hungaroring should suit the W17 far better than Spa's power-dependent layout.
Toto Wolff has promised to "put my arm around him" ahead of the weekend, while Mercedes' engineers are actively exploring setup changes for Budapest.
Nobody wants to head into the summer break on a low. Russell certainly does not.
Will he bounce back in Hungary?
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Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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