Toto Wolff Furious as Mercedes Issue Hurts George Russell

Toto Wolff expressed his frustration after a problem with the Mercedes start procedure cost George Russell multiple positions at the beginning of the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Russell started the race from sixth place but lost momentum when the anti-stall system was triggered as he attempted to launch from the grid. The British driver dropped to 21st and last, with Sergio Perez starting from the pit lane.

Russell then produced a strong recovery drive, passing several cars through the midfield. He eventually finished seventh and scored six points, becoming the final driver from the leading four teams to reach the chequered flag after Oscar Piastri retired.

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The start problem increased Russell’s deficit in the internal Mercedes battle. Kimi Antonelli finished third and collected 15 points, leaving Russell 59 points behind his team-mate. Antonelli has scored 40 points across the last two races, compared with only six for Russell.

The Hungaroring incident added to a catalogue of problems affecting Russell’s season. He previously retired with an engine failure in Canada and encountered straight-line speed issues during the British and Belgian Grands Prix.

“It seems another problem has happened to George,” Wolff said. “It looks like he gave it about 10 per cent throttle, and the thing revved to the maximum. He went off throttle, and it bogged down.”

“So I am really not happy about the mistakes that are happening. After that, he drove very well, went through the traffic easily and recovered the maximum points he could have recovered,” the Mercedes team principal added.

Mercedes must now assess Russell’s start system and the operational reliability of his car before the next round, as the team seeks to prevent further technical problems from influencing the championship contest between its two drivers.