Mercedes
There were contrasting fortunes for the two Mercedes drivers at Spa. Russell’s race was over after a handful of corners, after he lost some deployment and fell backwards into the clutches of the Ferrari pair. Running side by side with Hamilton, the two collided and Russell was sent spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
That left him with a grand total of zero points, which was far from ideal considering he watched his team mate win once again. Antonelli had to work hard for it, unable to break free in the first stint and then losing track position to Leclerc, who got a cheap pit stop. But the Italian showed plenty of maturity in chasing down his quarry and passing on track to take the lead and then the win, his sixth Grand Prix victory of the season.
Kimi Antonelli, 1st
“It’s good to be back on the top step of the podium after a couple of difficult weekends. It was a hard-fought win and didn’t come easily. We lost the lead on the run to Eau Rouge but got it back on the opening lap. We looked in control but then lost it again when Leclerc was able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. We kept calm though and slowly closed the gap down. He was very quick and, even after I passed him, it was a struggle to break overtake mode. We eventually did though and could bring the win home.
“We saw how competitive several teams were again today. We need to keep working hard, keep performing, and keep scoring points. It’s going to be a long battle all the way to the end of the season. We will keep taking it one weekend at a time and try to do our best every time we get in the car.”
George Russell, DNF
“It’s been another difficult weekend, and I leave Spa disappointed that we’ve had another race where we’ve not scored any points. We’ve had too many of those weekends recently, but we will reset again and see what we can do in Budapest. We want to go into the shutdown with positivity and hopefully we can do that with a better Grand Prix in Hungary.
“The issue we faced with our boost on the opening lap was different to what we’ve been trying to solve earlier in the weekend. I made a good start and was in a decent position to fight for the lead but didn’t have the speed we expected on the run to Turn 5. I was overtaken by several cars behind and the incident with Lewis (Hamilton) followed.
“We are working flat out as a team to improve our reliability. We know it has cost us too many points so far this season and we’re all determined to get on top of it. It’s frustrating for everyone but I know just how hard everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is pushing to improve it.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“It’s a bittersweet day here in Spa. Kimi has been strong all weekend and drove a brilliant race to take the win. He kept focused after losing the lead to Leclerc under the Virtual Safety Car and, just like in Silverstone, he chased the Ferrari down. This time he was able to take the victory though, and it was very well deserved.
“George on the other hand was an unfortunate first lap casualty. Both our cars suffered from a lack of boost which affected power on the run out of Turn 1, the reason for which we are investigating, but George was impacted more severely and lost several positions. He was then turned around at Turn Five to end his race. He has had another tough weekend where he has faced several issues outside of his control, and we are working hard to get on top of them.
“As a team, we come away without having maximised our points scoring again. We have a strong package that is clearly capable of fighting for wins and both championships. We are working hard to improve our reliability as that is the clearest area of weakness. With one race left before the summer shutdown, we will be giving it our all to do that and go into the break with as much momentum as possible.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“Today was one of contrasting fortunes. Kimi took a well-deserved win, having lost the lead through no fault of his own. He showed great pace all weekend and was able to use that to good effect to catch and pass the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. He was robbed of the chance to do that at Silverstone, so this victory was particularly sweet.
“Sadly, George’s weekend has been tougher, and his race came to a premature end. Both cars suffered from a lack of boost which affected power on the opening lap, which put them under pressure. George’s issue was more extreme, and he ended up in a pack of cars at Turn 5 after losing several positions before being contacted by the Ferrari of Lewis (Hamilton). It is another frustrating end to a difficult weekend for him, but we know that he will reset and come back in a positive frame of mind in Hungary.
“Despite winning here, we are still finding issues with these regulations. It is something we are all working as hard as we can to get on top of, but we’ve clearly got more learning ahead of us. We will need to keep improving if we are to maximise our points scoring potential and fight for the championships as the season progresses.”