Mercedes Confirms Power Unit Glitch Affected All Cars in F1 GP

WHO:

Sportskeeda - Toto Wolff is the Mercedes F1 boss.

The Race - George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are Mercedes drivers.

The Race - Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are also mentioned as competitors.

WHAT:

The Race - Russell stated he had "no battery at all" by the time he reached the Kemmel Straight during the race.

The Race - Wolff mentioned that the deployment issue was "a completely new thing" that resulted in a deficit of about two to two and a half tenths in qualifying modes, which was different from previous assessments.

Sportskeeda - George Russell suffered from a software issue with his power unit at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Race - Every Mercedes engine suffered from a deployment problem during the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix.

The Race - Russell experienced a 30-40% reduction in battery deployment out of Turn 1.

The Race - Russell lost two positions and was involved in an accident with Lewis Hamilton due to the deployment issue.

The Race - Antonelli won the race by two seconds over Leclerc.

WHERE:

Sportskeeda - The incident occurred at the Belgian Grand Prix, specifically at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Race - The deployment issues were noted at Turn 1 and the Kemmel Straight.

WHEN:

The Race - The issues were reported during the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix.

WHY:

The Race - Wolff explained that the issue was triggered by a combination of a power unit setting and driving inputs from Russell himself, which had not been detailed previously.

The Race - The deployment problem was attributed to a combination of a power unit setting and driving inputs from Russell.

The Race - Wolff stated that the issue was "a completely new thing" that affected energy deployment.

HOW:

The Race - Wolff explained that Russell had more energy available at the beginning of the lap and less at the end, resulting in a deficit of about two to two and a half tenths in qualifying modes.

During the race, Russell reported that he had "no battery at all" by the time he reached the Kemmel Straight. Team principal Wolff noted that a deployment issue, described as "a completely new thing," led to a deficit of about two to two and a half tenths in qualifying modes, differing from earlier assessments. He further explained that this problem was caused by a combination of a power unit setting and driving inputs from Russell, which had not been previously detailed.