Mercedes are ‘vehemently opposed’ to one F1 rule change that could end George Russell’s problems

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George Russell was furious over the battery deployment in his Mercedes at Spa. He has been left searching for answers, but the team are completely against one possible solution.

The Brit’s Belgian GP ended at Le Combes as contact with Lewis Hamilton sent him into the gravel trap. Russell had been complaining about a lack of power all weekend, particularly with the deployment from the battery.

Russell was seething over his radio after his retirement, slamming his ‘unacceptable’ lack of battery charge down the Kemmel straight. It proved a major problem for the 28-year-old, while teammate Kimi Antonelli claimed his sixth win of the season.

Is George Russell fighting with one hand behind his back, or is Kimi Antonelli just too good?

Antonelli extends his lead in the standings to 44 points after Spa!

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Mercedes are ‘vehemently opposed’ to increasing the battery capacity by 15%

Karun Chandhok feels Russell’s problems are in ‘the code’ of Mercedes’ engine. It was believed that the Brit’s driving style was causing the issue, but after he took the same lines throughout the weekend, it was discovered that it was much deeper than that.

Russell wants to drive Antonelli’s car, as the Italian appeared not to face the same battery issue as his teammate. It is a huge issue that the team need to address, as the No.63 driver now sits 50 points behind in the standings.

One potential solution, as is being discussed, would be to increase the battery capacity by 15%. But according to journalist Franco Nugnes, Mercedes are ‘vehemently opposed’ to the idea.

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He explained on the Motorsport.com Italia YouTube channel: “Clearly, the data within its self-learning system differs from Kimi’s, and you can really see a big difference – and that’s the major problem Mercedes are facing right now.

“Because, well, how do you explain it to it, ‘Dear self-learning system. Listen, we need to free up more power for Russell.’ You haven’t got a clue.

“I mean, it’s a complex system, so I think that’s one of the issues that needs to be sorted out somehow. It’s become strikingly apparent here at Spa: it’s a 7 km-long circuit with very long straights and few real braking points where you can recharge the battery.

What is it going to take for George Russell to get back in the title fight?

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“Some say that simply increasing the battery capacity by 15% would be enough to completely eliminate the problem and avoid ending up in a situation where you’re out of power and the computer tells you what to do, right?

“But that’s madness; we won’t see it in Hungary at the end of this weekend because the track doesn’t have those characteristics.

“However, as for that 15% extra battery capacity that’s been discussed, coincidentally, the only team that has vehemently opposed it has always been…” to which colleague Beatrice Frangione said: “Mercedes.” Nugnes then replied: “Well done, well done.”