Mercedes Imposes Expected Grid Penalty on George Russell

Mercedes’ 2026 championship campaign has been handed another unwelcome complication, with George Russell now confirmed to face a grid penalty after the team admitted its reliability troubles have left both of its drivers needing additional power units. While Kimi Antonelli’s fate is already sealed for Monza next weekend, where the Italian will start from the back after Mercedes elected to fit his fifth engine of the season, Russell’s penalty remains a question of when – not if. The confirmation comes after a difficult first half of the campaign for the German manufacturer’s units. Russell lost a unit during the Canadian…