George Russell Soroti Masalah Baterai Mercedes di GP Belgia

Pembalap Mercedes George Russell mengalami kegagalan finis pada putaran pembuka Grand Prix Belgia di Sirkuit Spa-Francorchamps, Minggu, 19 Juli 2026, akibat kendala teknis baterai yang membuatnya kehilangan posisi sebelum terlibat benturan.

Masalah keandalan pada mobil Mercedes membuat Russell kehilangan daya secara drastis di lintasan lurus Kemmel, menjadikannya sasaran mudah bagi pembalap lain sebelum akhirnya bersenggolan dengan Lewis Hamilton. Berbicara kepada media, Russell menjelaskan kronologi hilangnya tenaga pada jet darat miliknya sejak tikungan pertama.

"I made a good start. I made a great first corner and I was tucked up right behind Verstappen, but for whatever reason, the battery decided not to recharge at Turn 1," kata George Russell, Pembalap Mercedes.

Daya baterai yang menurun drastis memicu gangguan pada sistem turbocharger sehingga mobil tidak memiliki kecepatan maksimal saat mendaki bukit menuju Eau Rouge.

"The battery didn't charge and I exited the first corner 35% down. And because it didn't charge, I also had a boost problem. The turbo didn't sort itself out, so I had no power.

I got to the top of Eau Rouge with 0% on the battery. Quite frankly, it was dangerous. I got swamped by three cars.

I shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. That's why I'm the most angry." ujar George Russell, Pembalap Mercedes.

Hamilton dijatuhi penalti waktu lima detik akibat insiden tersebut, namun Russell menganggap benturan di tikungan Les Combes itu murni sebagai insiden balapan biasa.

"Me and Lewis, honestly, I think it was a race incident; he didn't do it on purpose. He was more to blame than I was. But he didn't do anything reckless.

That was one of those things I was most angry about, that I was in that position in the first place. I was in a great position after Turn 1. I was ready to fight the two guys ahead of me up to Turn 5.

Instead, I got swamped by three drivers." tutur George Russell, Pembalap Mercedes.

Kegagalan ini menambah catatan buruk Russell dalam persaingan gelar juara dunia musim ini, di mana ia mengaku mulai terbiasa dengan situasi sulit tersebut.

"I'm numb to the disappointment now. When it happens so often, you just get used to it." tambah George Russell, Pembalap Mercedes.

Russell menegaskan kekecewaannya mendalam karena ia merasa kehilangan peluang besar untuk memperebutkan posisi terdepan sejak awal balapan.

"I got totally swallowed up down the straight, lost three positions. The incident was a racing incident; maybe I could have gone wider, he could have braked a bit more. The incident doesn’t happen if I have the speed down the straight.

No words at the moment. Appreciate everyone is working hard to solve the problem, stood here on lap 5 of the race, felt like I was in a position to fight for the lead at turn 1 so no power and all gone." jelas George Russell, Pembalap Mercedes.

Di sisi lain, Lewis Hamilton yang kini membela Ferrari memberikan pembelaan mengenai situasi di lap pertama yang sangat padat tersebut.

"Car crossed right in front of me, had another car in front of me too," ucap Lewis Hamilton, Pembalap Ferrari.

Hamilton kemudian terlibat percakapan radio dengan tim teknisnya mengenai jarak dengan pembalap McLaren Oscar Piastri serta penalti yang harus ia jalani.

"We are opening the gap to Piastri... we need to serve a five-second penalty." kata Teknisi Ferrari.

Hamilton merespons pemberitahuan dari dinding pembatas lintasan tersebut dengan singkat.

"Another one..." balas Lewis Hamilton, Pembalap Ferrari.

Memasuki pertengahan balapan, juara dunia tujuh kali itu kembali mempertanyakan keputusan strategi pit stop yang diterapkan oleh tim barunya.

"What lap are we on?" tanya Lewis Hamilton, Pembalap Ferrari.

Pihak teknisi langsung memberikan informasi mengenai jumlah putaran yang telah berjalan.

"Lap 18." jawab Teknisi Ferrari.

Hamilton merasa tidak puas karena dilepas kembali ke lintasan di tengah kepadatan pembalap lain.

"Why the hell... I told you what strategy I wanted to do, you’ve just put me out with everyone else now." keluh Lewis Hamilton, Pembalap Ferrari.

Tim merespons keluhan tersebut dengan menegaskan peralihan rencana strategi balapan.

"We are now on plan B." sahut Teknisi Ferrari.

Sementara itu, rekan setim Russell, Kimi Antonelli, sukses mengamankan posisi pole dalam kualifikasi sebelum balapan dimulai.

"It is great to be on pole. It was not a straightforward session, but we were able to improve lap by lap. Tomorrow is another day, but I have Max starting behind me so it is imperative to get a good start and lead into turn five. It is going to be fun tomorrow." kata Kimi Antonelli, Pembalap Mercedes.

Bos Mercedes Toto Wolff menyampaikan kekhawatirannya mengenai cuaca di Spa-Francorchamps serta masalah mesin yang dialami Russell.

"We really don't know what to expect in Spa." tutur Toto Wolff, Bos Mercedes.

Wolff berharap tim teknis telah menemukan akar permasalahan pada unit daya mobil Russell setelah melihat adanya keanehan pada data telemetri.

"I really hope we've found the root cause on the engine, there's something we saw." tambah Toto Wolff, Bos Mercedes.

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa manajemen energi akan menjadi faktor penentu utama dalam balapan yang penuh ketidakpastian ini.

"It's a bit of an unknown about the slipstream, but energy management will be the prevailing factor, it will be a surprise box but curious to see how it will pan out." jelas Toto Wolff, Bos Mercedes.

Pembalap Red Bull Max Verstappen yang memulai balapan dari posisi kedua juga sempat menyoroti potensi turunnya hujan di sekitar sirkuit.

"Looks like a bit of rain around, I don't think it's going to rain, I might jinx it! I want a decent start but the race-pace is unknown." kata Max Verstappen, Pembalap Red Bull.

Dilansir dari laporan Independent, berikut adalah klasemen sementara sepuluh besar pembalap Formula 1 sebelum hasil penuh GP Belgia ditentukan: