Mercedes is still assessing whether George Russell’s damaged engine at the Hungarian GP, held on Sunday (26) at Hungaroring, can be repaired to avoid a penalty in the upcoming races of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The British driver had to change the power unit before the race after a crack in the engine caused a water leak during qualifying.
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With the change, the driver started using his fourth engine of the season, the last allowed without penalty. A new change will make Russell lose positions on the grid. Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ boss, said he still doesn’t know if the part can be recovered: “I don’t know. We need to check if we can repair it. It has a considerable crack,” he said.
Russell and Kimi Antonelli are already facing the engine limit after a series of reliability problems. Wolff revealed that the team is still analyzing when a possible penalty would be applied: “In terms of engine penalties, I still very much hope we don’t have to take it. And we need to decide when that will happen, when we will need to take one, on which tracks,” he said.
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The executive mentioned Monza as a possible option for Antonelli to serve a potential penalty and acknowledged the team’s problems. “Our reliability has been… simply not good. Whether we will take a penalty or not, we will see.”
In Hungary, Russell finished seventh after a problem at the start compromised his race. Meanwhile, Antonelli secured third place and extended his championship lead, leaving his teammate 59 points behind.
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