Mercedes has finally broken their silence on George Russell’s disastrous start at the Hungarian Grand Prix—and what they revealed points directly at the team, not the driver.
The 28-year-old Brit was dumped from sixth place all the way to the back of the field the moment the lights went out, leaving fans and commentators stunned. Now, the Silver Arrows are owning up to exactly what went wrong.
According to an official video posted by the team, deputy team principal Bradley Lord explained that Russell’s revs unexpectedly hit the limiter as he waited for the start. When the lights went green, the driver had almost no throttle response through no fault of his own.
The result? Anti-stall kicked in, and Russell was left helpless while the entire field roared past him.
“He wasn’t able to get it back under control,” Lord said. “So he made a start with effectively much too little throttle. That meant anti-stall kicked in, and he dropped to the back.”
Team principal Toto Wolff didn’t mince words either, calling the issue “entirely our responsibility” and “simply not acceptable.” He added that Russell has faced too many similar problems this season, costing him dearly in his 2026 championship battle against teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Even with the nightmare start, Russell fought back to finish seventh—a result that team insiders are calling brilliant damage control. But the question remains: with Mercedes still struggling with these technical gremlins, can Russell really close the 59-point gap to Antonelli?
