Mercedes confirm a lack of boost on the opening lap at Spa

Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin described the Belgian Grand Prix as "a day of contrasting fortunes" after Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed his sixth victory of the season while George Russell retired on the opening lap following a loss of power deployment.

Antonelli converted a strong weekend into another victory at Spa-Francorchamps, recovering after losing the lead through the Virtual Safety Car phase before overtaking Charles Leclerc on track to reclaim first place.

Meanwhile, Russell's race ended just a handful of corners after the start when an energy deployment issue left him vulnerable to the Ferraris before he was tagged into retirement by Lewis Hamilton at Turn 5.

Reflecting on the race, Shovlin was full of praise for Antonelli's drive: "Today was one of contrasting fortunes. Kimi took a well-deserved win, having lost the lead through no fault of his own."

The Mercedes engineer highlighted the championship leader's pace throughout the weekend and his decisive overtake on Leclerc after the pit stops.

"He showed great pace all weekend and was able to use that to good effect to catch and pass the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc," continued Shovlin.

Shovlin also referenced the disappointment of Silverstone, where Antonelli lost a likely victory due to circumstances beyond his control.

"He was robbed of the chance to do that at Silverstone, so this victory was particularly sweet."

On the other side of the garage, Shovlin admitted Russell endured another frustrating weekend: "Sadly, George's weekend has been tougher, and his race came to a premature end."

He revealed that both Mercedes drivers suffered from a lack of boost on the opening lap, although Russell's issue proved significantly more severe.

"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)."

Despite the disappointment, Shovlin backed Russell to bounce back immediately at the next round.

"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."

Although Mercedes celebrated another victory, Shovlin acknowledged the team is still battling to fully understand the behaviour of Formula One's new-generation power units and energy deployment systems.

"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."

He concluded by warning that Mercedes cannot afford to stand still if it wants to remain in contention for both championships.

"We will need to keep improving if we are to maximise our points scoring potential and fight for the championships as the season progresses."