Mercedes Performance Drops at Belgian GP, Russell Stranded in Sixth

George Russell faces a challenging weekend at Belgian GP – the Mercedes driver only managed sixth position in main qualifying, trailing 0.639 seconds behind pole position.

The sprint race situation proved even more disappointing – Russell stuck in 13th position and trapped in a DRS train behind Yuki Tsunoda, only moving up to 12th after Pierre Gasly failed to start.

“My laps felt really strong,” stated Russell. “But clearly as a team, we’re off the pace this weekend.”

His teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli faced worse fortune – eliminated in Q1 and forced to start from the pit lane. Mercedes limited car setup changes between sprint race and main qualifying to avoid uncertainty risks.

Mercedes performance trend shows decline – from four podiums in first six races of season to just one podium in last six races. Rain forecast for race day adds challenge for team running low downforce setup.

“In stint one there won’t be any more overtakes,” added Russell. “But wet races often create some carnage as well…”