Mercedes reveals software bug behind Russell’s Suzuka setback
Mercedes left Suzuka with another victory in hand but also with a clear list of technical lessons to absorb, as Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin dissected a Japanese Grand Prix that delivered both triumph and frustration for the team.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s second consecutive Formula 1 win was the headline, and Shovlin was quick to credit the rookie’s execution. “Well done to Kimi on his second win. He had really strong pace and, whilst he benefited from the safety car to put him into the lead, he was able to comfortably control the race once he was in that position.”
Antonelli’s early setback — dropping from pole to sixth — was erased by a combination of strong pace and a perfectly timed Safety Car that allowed him to pit and retain track position. From there, he dominated, pulling away to win by nearly 14 seconds.
But as Shovlin explained, the same Safety Car that elevated Antonelli effectively derailed George Russell’s race. “Kimi's fortune was George's misfortune. Had we stopped George a lap later, he would have retained the lead for the restart.”
Instead, Russell pitted just before the Safety Car was deployed, rejoining behind both Antonelli and Oscar Piastri. The restart then triggered a cascade of issues. “As it happened, he dropped to P3 and lost a further place to Lewis when he hit the harvesting limit too early in the lap and had insufficient battery for the restart.”
What followed was even more unusual — and far more costly. Shovlin revealed that Russell’s sudden loss of power, which allowed Charles Leclerc to sweep past, was caused by a rare software glitch.
“He then had another frustrating issue where a bug in the software code, triggered by a button press and a gear shift at the same time, caused the power unit to go into superclip and charge the battery which allowed Charles to pass.”
Russell fought back to fourth, but the team acknowledged the sting of a lost podium — and potentially a lost victory — after a weekend where the Briton had shown strong pace.
Looking ahead, Shovlin made clear that Mercedes has work to do. “Clearly there is a lot that we need to work on and understand in the next few weeks. We've made a great start to the season, but our competitors are closing in.”
The upcoming break before Miami offers a valuable window. “Happily, we have several areas of improvement and we will make the maximum use of the gap in the calendar to develop in the places where we are not strong enough.”
