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Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has warned that ongoing power unit anomalies at Mercedes risk sending George Russell into a mental spiral of "irrational paranoia" unless the team can swiftly provide engineering answers to the Briton.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Chandhok analysed the fallout from the Belgian Grand Prix, a weekend that dealt another blow to Russell's championship fight.
While his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli claimed his sixth victory of the season, Russell's race ended on the opening lap. After suffering a lack of electrical deployment off the line, the 28-year-old was left a sitting duck on the straights before a collision with Lewis Hamilton sent him into the gravel.
"It's a bit like how Oscar Piastri summed it up. This has become the algorithm world championship," Chandhok explained on the podcast. "For me, though, the biggest thing is the psychological effect it’s had on George because as a driver, it’s an awful feeling."
According to Chandhok, the inability to match a team-mate can send a driver into a spiral.
"I’ve had that a couple of times when you come back to the garage, you look at the data, and you go, 'Hang on a second. I’m as fast as my team-mate in all the corners. I’m just slower on the straights. What more can I do?'" he continued.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
"And then you start this spiral. 'Why aren’t the team helping me? Are these people for me?' The problem makes it worse. It gets in your head, and it causes you an issue.
"It gives you this feeling of paranoia, which may not be rational, right? It’s an irrational paranoia, but racing drivers are operating in a highly emotional environment, and I think there’s a big effect of that."
After the Belgian Grand Prix, which was the 10th round of the 2026 season, Russell sits third in the drivers' championship, 50 points behind leader Antonelli.
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