Mercedes have an easy way to find out if George Russell is really to blame for Kimi Antonelli gap

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Mercedes must now look to the Hungarian Grand Prix to see whether George Russell has reason to complain about his gap to Kimi Antonelli.

After Russell’s Lap 1 collision with Lewis Hamilton, his time at the Belgian Grand Prix came to an end very quickly and quite disappointingly.

Russell immediately questioned his gap to Kimi Antonelli, referencing his lack of speed compared to his teammate throughout the weekend at Spa.

Russell had made his frustration over the discrepancy between his and Kimi Antonelli’s speed well-known to Mercedes officials several times.

But with the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, Toto Wolff and the rest of the decision-makers at Mercedes will have a great way to test how much of this gap is actually George Russell’s fault.

READ MORE: George Russell seethes at Mercedes in unheard radio from Belgian Grand Prix retirement

Hungarian GP circuit perfectly suited to show whether George Russell is struggling because of his car

One of the biggest complaints George Russell had during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend was his issues with his straight-line speed.

While Russell suggested he was losing somewhere near five-tenths of a second on straight-line speed compared to Kimi Antonelli, Toto Wolff told F1 TV the loss was close to ‘a couple of tenths.’

However, after qualifying on Saturday, Russell suggested that his corner speed was much better, suggesting that his slow straight-line speed had more to do with issues with the car.

Reports suggested that Mercedes haven’t seen any data to support Russell’s claims. This is where the Hungarian Grand Prix will help Mercedes determine whether Russell is being fair in his assessment.

The Hungaroring track is known for its excessive corners and lack of length straights, with some dubbing the track ‘Monaco without walls’ for how many turns there are.

The track features 14 turns and corners, with Turn 6 and Turn 8 proving particularly tricky to navigate for drivers at high speeds.

If Russell does have stronger speed in corners and delivers a strong performance because of the lack of long straights at Hungaroring, Mercedes will have to look into the issues he’s complaining about.

But this will be a challenge for him, given that he has had a very mixed track record at the Hungarian Grand Prix over the last few years.

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli just shared new evidence that George Russell is underperforming at Mercedes

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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Hungarian Grand Prix could not have come at a better time for George Russell amid Mercedes issues

Over the years, the Hungaroring track has been somewhat of a tricky site for George Russell. While he hasn’t managed to deliver strong results in qualifying, he turns things around on race days.

Russell has only reached P3 in qualifying twice in his career at Hungaroring – pole in 2022 and P4 last year.

He has been eliminated in Q3 more times (three), and eliminated in Q2 the same number of times. His average starting position is 12th.

But there is a silver lining. In each race where he got knocked out in Q3, Russell finished in the points. In fact, he might have the best starting position-to-points conversation rate on the grid, given that his average result at the track is 8.8.

While Russell has never managed to earn a win at the Hungaroring, he has been able to deliver some really strong outings. His best performance came in 2023, when he started P17 and ended the race with a P6 finish.

With all these factors at play, perhaps Russell can prove to Mercedes that something weird is going on with his car and that he hasn’t been underdelivering.