2026 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

[Matt2725]

https://streamable.com/yy85du

Looks like George is being too dramatic over his speed being capped.

Happened at Silverstone too where his top end froze around 305 IIRC

[Quantum]

https://streamable.com/yy85du

Looks like George is being too dramatic over his speed being capped.

Happened at Silverstone too where his top end froze around 305 IIRC

His speed was capped though....

308kmh pegged. Then a sudden burst 200 meters before the corner. So he had battery but it simply wasn't deploying fully. Kimi even lifted and got a higher top speed.

[Big Tea]

https://streamable.com/yy85du

Looks like George is being too dramatic over his speed being capped.

Happened at Silverstone too where his top end froze around 305 IIRC

His speed was capped though....

308kmh pegged. Then a sudden burst 200 meters before the corner. So he had battery but it simply wasn't deploying fully. Kimi even lifted and got a higher top speed.

I think what bothers George (and many others) most is the inconsistency of it. If a driver knows that at a point he is not going to have any response, he can drive around it somewhat, but it seems to be a completely random event. Do I get a boost or a lag? must be unbalancing even when nothing happens because they are waiting for it, or not to have it.

[karana]

https://streamable.com/yy85du

Looks like George is being too dramatic over his speed being capped.

Happened at Silverstone too where his top end froze around 305 IIRC

His speed was capped though....

308kmh pegged. Then a sudden burst 200 meters before the corner. So he had battery but it simply wasn't deploying fully. Kimi even lifted and got a higher top speed.

I can imagine the sudden burst was possibly caused by Russell pushing the boost button. The power can otherwise not legally be increased under full throttle.

[johnnycesup]

https://streamable.com/yy85du

Looking at the video, Kimi's speed went up to 318 when he was very close on the slipstream and dropped back to around 310 when he went past.

While Russell's speed went up closer to Les Combes when there was a few cars side by side in front of him, making a big hole in the air for him to attack.

Adding to that the fact that Russell was faster on the run to Eau Rouge than Kimi without a significant tow since Max was absolutely flying, my take is that Russell and Kimi shared roughly the same deployment issue in the start of the lap. Notably, Russell and Kimi pressed what I assume is the boost button (Left thumb on the yellow button) on the exit of La Source and on the beginning of the Kemmel straight but it didn't make that big of a difference compared to Max before Eau Rouge and McLaren/Ferrari on the Kemmel Straight.

[FW17]

Russell's radio messages after crash, completely censored by the Brit TV production team.

"I'm out," declared Russell. "What the f*** happened with the SoC [State of Charge] down the straight?

"I had no f***ing battery down the straight! Guys, unacceptable. Un-f***ing-acceptable this whole weekend."

The same Brit production team that replayed Max Verstappen's radio over and over again at Silverstone just for the pleasure of making him look bad. Anyone against a Brit driver will have a narrative attached to him.

[Quantum]

I think what bothers George (and many others) most is the inconsistency of it. If a driver knows that at a point he is not going to have any response, he can drive around it somewhat, but it seems to be a completely random event. Do I get a boost or a lag? must be unbalancing even when nothing happens because they are waiting for it, or not to have it.

Agreed. Having an inconsistent deployment will immediately unsettle any driver.

Looking at the video, Kimi's speed went up to 318 when he was very close on the slipstream and dropped back to around 310 when he went past.

While Russell's speed went up closer to Les Combes when there was a few cars side by side in front of him, making a big hole in the air for him to attack.

Adding to that the fact that Russell was faster on the run to Eau Rouge than Kimi without a significant tow since Max was absolutely flying, my take is that Russell and Kimi shared roughly the same deployment issue in the start of the lap. Notably, Russell and Kimi pressed what I assume is the boost button (Left thumb on the yellow button) on the exit of La Source and on the beginning of the Kemmel straight but it didn't make that big of a difference compared to Max before Eau Rouge and McLaren/Ferrari on the Kemmel Straight.

Russell had Both Kimi and Max punching a big hole through the air for him through Eau Rouge. That just dissipated to 308kmh where the cars around Russell gained, including a merc engined McLaren. Then a sudden burst of speed where he visibly gained ground on Leclerc and Piastri, who themselves gained a large amount on Russell for 80% of the straight.

For me though, the real story starts before Eau Rouge. If you watch the aerial shots you will see Russell is right on Max's tail out of turn one. He also gets a good exit with what visibly looks like higher corner exit speed relative to Charles.
Within 350ish meters Max and Kimi have pulled out +/-8 car lengths on Russell, with Charles now near enough alongside despite not having the same exit speed due not having the ideal line out of turn 1.

Aerial view
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6RfOY_7leA&t=51s


Leclerc onboard

[nitrotech]

So much nonsense being pushed here without any data and pure hate for a driver. What a shame for this forum.

Here is more rational explanation of George's issues.