Russell 'Never Had a Season Like This' After Hungary Start Failure

George Russell says he has never endured a season with so much misfortune after an engine issue triggered anti-stall and ruined his start at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver fell from sixth to the back of the field before recovering to seventh, yet lost further ground to championship leader Kimi Antonelli as his difficult 2026 campaign continued.

Why it matters:

With Antonelli now leading Hamilton by 50 points and Russell by 59, every lost point is critical in the championship fight. Mercedes' repeated reliability failures are undermining a car that Russell says had pace as strong as anyone's in Hungary, turning potential podiums into damage-limitation exercises. If the team cannot diagnose whether these issues stem from bad luck or systemic problems, both drivers could quickly find themselves out of contention.

The details:

• Russell's car entered anti-stall off the line when the engine began revving erratically while he was barely touching the throttle, sending him from sixth to last before Turn 1.
• He climbed back to seventh but the result still stung in the standings, where teammate Antonelli continues to build a commanding lead.
• The anti-stall failure is just the latest setback in a season that has included a battery failure in Canada, an incorrect speeding penalty in Monaco, and a collision with Antonelli at Spa that Russell attributed to a straight-line speed deficit.
• Mercedes was forced to change Russell's power unit before the race after discovering an engine crack in qualifying, and Toto Wolff acknowledged that a grid penalty later this year may be unavoidable.
• Russell admitted he is "past the point of disappointment" and is focusing on positives, particularly the race pace that he had not felt for several grands prix.

What's next:

Formula 1 heads into the summer break before resuming with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23. Russell will be hoping the reset allows Mercedes to finally cure the gremlins haunting his season, because with half the year still to run, he needs a swift reversal of fortune to keep his title hopes alive.