If you analyze the Hungarian GP properly, you’ll see all the top teams have struggled. Not just Red Bull’s debacle or McLaren’s strategic mess; Ferrari and Mercedes had their share too. One of the worst-hit drivers was the Silver Arrows’ No.2, George Russell. Two consecutive races with underwhelming results. He had a DNF in Silverstone, exited early in Q1 during the Hungarian GP qualifying session, and finished P6. The Brit surely isn’t happy. Meanwhile, following the Qualifiers at Hungaroring Toto Wolff was fuming.

Wolff’s anger is properly justified. Now you’d ask why? Mercedes’ performance in the last five races made the Budapest mishaps unexpected. George Russell was heard complaining about not having enough fuel for the Qualifiers, which ultimately led to his P17 finish – this means he failed to clear Q1 itself! This was the first time in the current season that Russell qualified outside the top 10. The 26-year-old missed on some crucial points. And now, it seems Mercedes has realized their faults.

Mercedes’ Technical Director admits the team’s side of mistakes in the George Russell fiasco

A series of mistakes led to George Russell’s disappointing Qualifier. Analyzing the incident, Mercedes’ Technical Director, James Allison, owned their faults. Allison revealed what happened with George on Saturday. His first simple yet honest reply was, “Our Q1 for George was a mess.” Moreover, Russell wasn’t completely flawless. There were mistakes on his part too. But the majority of it “were mistakes that the team made.” 

Allison further stated: “Sadly, George, through a series of miscommunications between us and him, ended up instead of doing a fast and a slow lap. And then a fast for the best he could make of a situation that was difficult that we’d put him in.” The technical director also said that the Brit chose to do a fast lap and then another one. This means that by the time he got to his last lap, “which was already one lap sooner than we would have done if we’d put the right amount of fuel in the car.” The tires weren’t at their best and Russell wasn’t able to improve. Ultimately, he was knocked out.

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“A very disappointing thing for George and something that we’re very sorry for our part in,” apologized James Allison. This shows that Mercedes still needs to fix some parts of their team. Russell had previously complained about less fuel in his car but the same situation prevailed in Budapest, marking a loss for the team on one end. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton‘s car was getting slower as the track kept drying and the temperature increased. Thus a P5 and P17 finish for Mercedes left Toto Wolff unimpressed.

Toto Wolff fumed as his drivers had an upsetting Qualifying in Hungaroring

Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff was in a very bad mood post-qualifying. With Russell starting in P17 and Hamilton in P5, this wasn’t the expected result. Speaking with Sky Sports, at the end of the session, Wolff remarked: “A total underperformance from literally everybody.” Mercedes has won the last two races and the boss surely wanted to hit the hat trick. Unfortunately, with the disappointing positions, it wouldn’t be possible.

However, the main race saw a resurgence, especially on George Russell’s side. From P17 to P6, his massive leap gave a boost to Mercedes’ points. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished third. So, not a complete disaster for the Silver Arrows. However, they must take active measures to avoid such circumstances if they wish to continue on a positive trajectory.

The Hungarian GP underlined some major issues within the Mercedes squad. Their qualifying debacle could’ve led to worse race results, but thanks to the drivers and their skill the situation was bypassed. Now, as the Belgian GP knocks on the door, the Brackley-based must buckle up for another win or podium. What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments.