Russell escapes grid drop after water leak forces Mercedes engine change at Hungarian GP

George Russell will keep his seventh-place grid slot for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring after Mercedes confirmed an engine change following a water leak in qualifying — avoiding a pitlane start because the replacement unit is of identical specification to the damaged one.

Russell’s trouble began on his final Q3 lap when he clipped the kerbs at the exit of Turn 4. The resulting vibrations triggered a water leak inside the Mercedes power unit, and the team instructed him to stop once he had completed the lap. Team principal Toto Wolff confirmed the engine was “done”.

Mercedes later clarified the situation in a statement: “During George’s final lap in Q3, we detected a loss of water pressure on his car and instructed him to stop as a precaution once he had completed the lap. Following further inspection, we have elected to change his power unit ahead of tomorrow’s race, moving to his fourth unit of the season and thus within his season allocation.”

Russell’s fourth internal combustion engine is the last he can use before incurring grid penalties, putting him on the same allocation count as team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Both drivers are therefore likely to face a grid drop at some point after the summer break.

Russell reflected on what the leak had cost him on a lap that had been shaping up well. “We had a water leak, hit a bump in Turn 4,” he said. “The lap was feeling good until then and then suddenly the lap wasn’t. I didn’t think much of it, and the team told me the water was spraying over my tyres. As soon as we saw it in the data, the water leak, suddenly my tyre temperatures got really cold on the rear. So, I don’t think much more — top three definitely not possible, but maybe a few positions higher would have been there.”

The qualifying session was already a difficult one for Mercedes. Both Russell and Antonelli struggled to manage tyre temperatures at the Hungaroring, leaving them well off the pace of the frontrunners. Lando Norris took pole position, ending Mercedes’ run of qualifying dominance this season, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completing the top three — though Hamilton subsequently received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q3.

Antonelli, who qualified fourth, faces a separate stewards’ inquiry over alleged speeding under yellow flags after passing Max Verstappen’s stationary Red Bull during his final lap. Should he avoid punishment, he would move up to third on the grid following Hamilton’s penalty.