{"success":true,"data":{"id":"d3315f78-f81d-4706-8e29-82f31a167408","title":"George Russell hopes glitch is resolved and he can produce a title charge","summary":"The Mercedes driver had a day to forget in Belgium last time out.","content":"US Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# George Russell hopes glitch is resolved and he can produce a title charge\n\n## The Mercedes driver had a day to forget in Belgium last time out.\n\n[Philip Duncan](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/philip-duncan)Thursday 23 July 2026 15:54 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\nopen image in gallery\n\nMercedes’ George Russell has been handed a significant boost in his world championship bid (David Davies/PA)(PA Wire)\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\n[George Russell](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/george-russell) has been handed a significant boost in his world championship bid after it emerged Mercedes have resolved his mysterious engine problem.\n\nRussell trails team-mate [Kimi Antonelli](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/kimi-antonelli) by 50 points in the standings after the [Italian](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/italian) teenager romped to his sixth victory from the 10 rounds so far at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.\n\nRussell’s race ended following a collision with [Lewis Hamilton](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/lewis-hamilton) which arrived after he was exposed to the chasing pack following a first-lap engine glitch. A day earlier, a deployment riddle – first blamed on Russell’s driving style – then contributed to him qualifying half-a-second behind Antonelli.\n\nRussell said he was “praying” the debilitating problem would be fixed ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the concluding round prior to the three-week summer break, and his Mercedes team are confident they have got to the bottom of the failure, an apparent coding issue hidden away in his engine.\n\nSpeaking at the Hungaroring on Thursday, the 28-year-old, who has suffered a catalogue of mechanical issues this year, said: “These new power units are just exceptionally complex and there was something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code. It was almost impossible to see unless you knew exactly what to look for, but I’m glad we have found it.\n\n“I definitely feel this is the most resilient I’ve ever been in my whole life, and I take pride in my mentality outside of the car. I still believe in myself and the team, even when everything looks against us.\n\n“Unfortunately, I’ve had too much practice of being disappointed. Last week was a slap on the face, but I am closer in the championship than I was four races ago (Russell trailed Antonelli by 68 points after the Monaco Grand Prix), so I head into the weekend with a positive mindset and excitement about what’s to come, rather than disappointment of what’s happened.”\n\nKimi Antonelli has won six races so far and leads the world championship (David Davies/PA)(PA Wire)\n\nIn a radio transmission, which was not broadcast during last Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps, Russell yelled: “What the f*** happened with the SOC (state of battery charge) down the straight?\n\n“I had no f****** battery down the straight. Guys, unacceptable. Un-f******-acceptable, this whole weekend.”\n\nResponding to his outburst, Russell continued: “We all hold ourselves to the highest level, and my emotions were exceptionally high because I got knocked out of the race.\n\n“Radio messages, 99 per cent of the time, are words that are said through pure frustration and hot-headedness. I am the first person to look at myself in the mirror and see where I can improve. It’s nobody’s fault, but we need to limit these issues.\n\n“The whole team is standing by me and vice versa, and ultimately we have achieved what we wanted to in the sense of finding there was an problem (in the engine). And if you sit there and don’t express your views, maybe you find an issue, maybe you don’t, but you don’t move forward.\n\n“We’re all humans within the machine, within the race car and we’re fighting for everything we’ve got.”\n\n### More about\n\n### Most popular\n\n### Popular videos\n\n### Bulletin","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/george-russell-kimi-antonelli-belgium-lewis-hamilton-italian-b3020374.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/george-russell-kimi-antonelli-belgium-lewis-hamilton-italian-b3020374.html","author":"Philip Duncan","author_name":"Philip Duncan","published_at":"2026-07-23T14:54:49.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-23T14:54:49.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/07/23/16/2fe986f2055c3626bf48626389d4a66dY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg0OTA0NTQ1-2.85388994.jpg","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":5,"word_count":813,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}