Following a challenging first day at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, there are mixed feelings in the garage for Mercedes. While Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in FP2, George Russell continued to struggle with his Mercedes’ set-up.
In FP1, both Antonelli and Russell had a severe lack of performance in their W17. They finished the session in P6 and P8, respectively. Antonelli lacked grip, while his teammate Russell continued to struggle with straight-line speed and energy deployment.
After some tweaks in the set-up ahead of FP2, it was a turnaround for Mercedes. Championship leader Antonelli topped the session with a 0.190s lead over Norris. On the other side of the garage, however, Russell only attempted one flying lap on the soft, finishing in P8 once again.
Antonelli reflects on near-miss encounter with Sainz
In the first half of FP1, Antonelli had a near-miss encounter with Williams’ Carlos Sainz during his exit out of Stavelot. The Italian felt that his run was compromised by the slowing Williams blocking the track. He was then heard saying, “Sainz, what an idiot” over the team radio.
“I mean backed off out of a fast corner, you exit in seventh gear, and I had to abort, and it was quite risky. So, of course, I was not happy with it. And you know, of course, what they said, probably in the heat of the moment, it’s not the best, but it was quite dangerous.“
Mercedes’ improvement in pace in FP2 at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP
Antonelli then spoke on the team’s “turnaround” in FP2. He admitted that while there was an improvement in performance after the set-up change prior to the session, there was still more to be done to guarantee Mercedes stays ahead of their rivals at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, noting the speed of the Red Bulls and McLarens.
“Yeah, I mean it was a massive turnaround with the car because FP1 we struggled a lot, a lot more than anticipated so yeah it was a good change but of course a lot of work to do because Red Bull is quick, McLaren was up there so just need to put things together but yeah long run felt very strong as well but obviously yeah the car changed quite a bit between the two sessions so a lot of work to do overnight in order to be ready for tomorrow and on Sunday.”
When asked what the main limitations were in FP1, the 19-year-old shared that it was a lack of grip.
“Just overall sliding. I cannot go too much in details, but a lot of sliding overall, and just struggling to get the confidence with the car.”
Russell explains difficult FP1 and FP2 outing
George Russell lamented the instability of his Mercedes in FP1, citing grip as the primary issue similar to his teammate.
“We haven’t had the smoothest Friday here in Spa. we overestimated the grip levels in FP1. And that meant our starting set-up wasn’t in the right place. We struggled with a difficult car balance and, whilst we were able to complete some learning, it wasn’t the ideal way to start our weekend.“
In FP2, Russell only attempted to do a single lap on a fresh set of soft tyres, which were not in the right window, hence his P8 finish. Nonetheless, he is looking forward to studying the data with Mercedes.
The long run was also disrupted due to a red flag brought out by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman had lost the rear of his Alpine, making contact with the barrier in Turn 14. Regardless, the Briton shared that he remains motivated by Mercedes’ long-run pace.
“We therefore worked hard ahead of FP2 and made some changes which improved things. There is still more lap time we can find, particularly on the single lap, and we will look to do that overnight. Our long run was more competitive, and that gives us encouragement heading into Saturday and Sunday.“
Shovlin on Mercedes’ “messy” FP1 session at 2026 F1 Belgian GP
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin reflected on the tough FP1 session at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP and shared his insights. According to Shovlin, Mercedes had chosen a set-up with not enough downforce for the session. This resulted in both drivers complaining about a lack of grip. Something the team was quick to correct ahead of FP2.
“Yeah, it was a messy first session where we didn’t have the car in the right place. We thought there’d be a bit more grip than there was, but it looks like other people pitched theirs a bit better but then we had a chance between sessions to reposition it all, and drivers were a lot happier with the car in the afternoon.”
Russell’s lack of pace compared to Antonelli in FP2
The Briton also spoke on Russell’s performance deficit compared to Antonelli in FP2. Despite the seven-time race winner recording a lap time 1.2 seconds slower than his teammate, Shovlin insisted that the 28-year-old’s sole lap is not representative of his actual pace.
However, he did admit that the 28-year-old’s tyres were not in the right window. Shovlin added that Russell also could have misjudged the grip level, hence the sliding on track, but the British engineer said it was expected considering the set-up in FP1.
Nonetheless, the 52-year-old is confident that Russell will bounce back on Saturday.
“I mean it’s not a great lap for George, but it was only one lap. So if that doesn’t go well, you look like you’re off the pace, but he felt he didn’t have the tyres ready for the start of the lap, which leaves a bit of a loss.
“There’s a few corners where it looks like he might have underestimated the grip level, but given the first session that we had, it’s not a big surprise. You know there’s bits for him to work on, but as I said, we can see a lot of it in the data that we’ll be chasing, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be there tomorrow.”
Russell’s energy deployment struggles in FP1
Shovlin also revealed that Russell had a faulty Fuel Flow Meter (FFM) that resulted in a lower energy deployment in FP1. He added that it has been fixed following the end of the session.
Additionally, he noted that the lack of pace in the corners had a significant effect on the Mercedes’ power deployment. Especially at tracks like Silverstone and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which are dominated by full-throttle sections.
“I mean there’s a few bits on George’s side that we’re trying to just get to the bottom of, there was a problem with one of the homologated FFMs in the morning session that left him a bit down on power to Kimi. That’s been solved. There’s a few other little bits and pieces to pick up. But the problem is if the corners are slower, it affects the deployment. And when you’re at an energy-starved track like this one, like Silverstone, those differences are really magnified.”
Mercedes is optimistic ahead of the 2026 F1 Belgian GP
While Mercedes had a rough start to the 2026 F1 Belgian GP weekend, the team remains positive as they approach Saturday. Shovlin echoed Russell and Antonelli’s thoughts on Mercedes’ strong long-run picture and shared that the team will be looking to maximise the rest of their weekend.
“There’s a bit more to find for sure. I think even Kimi felt he didn’t have a perfect lap. But we’re going to have to find a bit because we can see that the others are pretty close to us on pace, particularly on long run everyone looks quite similar. And that will be the thing that will probably affect the finishing order on Sunday. But yeah, I’d be optimistic. We can find a bit from where we were.”
