‘F**king great’ – Untelevised George Russell radio after Mercedes ‘bug’ strikes
Mercedes driver George Russell remains without a win since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix
Untelevised team radio from the Japanese Grand Prix has revealed the moment George Russel responded sarcastically after encountering deployment issues with his Mercedes W17.
It comes after it emerged that a “bug in the software” had contributed to him missing out on a podium finish at Suzuka.
Untelevised George Russell team radio emerges from Japanese Grand Prix
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Mercedes’ strong start to the F1 2026 season continued in Japan last weekend as Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli claimed a second successive win.
Antonelli’s latest victory, coming after his breakthrough triumph in China, saw the 19-year-old become the youngest-ever driver to lead the F1 standings.
Russell lost the lead of the championship after coming home a frustrating fourth, marking the first time a Mercedes driver has failed to make the podium in F1 2026.
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As reported by PlanetF1.com on Tuesday, Mercedes confirmed that a “bug in the software” had resulted in Russell losing fourth place to Charles Leclerc on Lap 37 at Suzuka.
It emerged that Russell changed gear at the same time he pressed a button on his steering wheel, confusing the system as his Mercedes W17 briefly entered super-clipping mode and left him defenceless against Leclerc.
That came after Russell had lost a place to Leclerc’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, at the restart following the safety car.
Untelevised team radio footage from Suzuka has revealed how Russell became increasingly sarcastic as the race slipped away from him, quipping that it was “really good” as Leclerc passed him.
Russell hit the harvest limit ahead of the safety car restart on Lap 28, leaving him with a shortage of battery power to defend from Hamilton as the race resumed.
After Hamilton completed his move on the Mercedes entering Turn 1, Russell was heard commenting: “No f**king battery. Great.”
His race engineer, Marcus Dudley, replied: “Copy that. So we hit the harvest limit there.”
Russell added: “F**king great…”
As he chased Hamilton on Lap 31, Russell asked about the differences in deployment between the Mercedes and Ferrari over the course of the lap.
He said: “Give me feedback on the deployment difference.”
Dudley responded: “So getting it two tenths into Turn 1. Deployment the same around the rest of the lap other than Turn 8.”
Russell’s hopes of repassing Hamilton faded when he was struck by the “bug” on Lap 37, allowing Leclerc to slip past at Spoon.
Russell was heard saying: “Yep, that was good. Really good.”
PlanetF1.com reported on Tuesday how Max Verstappen was given a reminder of how to exploit the new ‘overtake mode’ by his race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, during the race at Suzuka.
It came just weeks after Verstappen was given a step-by-step reminder about the restart procedure during the safety car at the season opener in Australia.
Russell also appeared to have trouble understanding how the 2026 rules work in Japan, with Dudley telling his driver that lifting and coasting into Turn 11 would not help the process of recharging the battery under the new regulations.
The full exchange on Lap 9 went as follows:
Dudley: “Recommend the de-rate and then you can use the boost into 1. De-rate button into 16.”
Russell: “Lift and coast into… lift and coast into 11?”
Dudley: “Affirm.”
Dudley: “It used to be the de-rate button. Lift and coast will not help.”
Russell: “[Inaudible]”
Dudley: “Used to be the de-rate button.”
Russell: “I just want to confirm we’re chatting about the same thing here. Lift and coast into 11 is my suggestion.”
Dudley: “It will not help, that will not help.”
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