George Russell shares 'huge' relief after pivotal Mercedes discovery

George Russell believes it is "easier said than done" to go back to basics with a "huge load off my mind" after his recent F1 struggles proved not to be his fault.

Across the British and Belgian races, Russell struggled with straight-line speed issues in his Mercedes, which was initially thought to be related to his driving style. 

However, it was proven ahead of the Hungarian GP that the issues were actually in the Mercedes power unit and that there was nothing Russell could do.

The Briton finds himself 59 points behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the standings as F1 reconvenes from the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Russell believing the issues not being his fault was a big lift.

"It is a huge load off my mind, but also while I'm driving, through Silverstone and the majority of Friday and Saturday at Spa, I think about how I needed to drive to make the power unit fast in the straight," Russell explained to media, including RacingNews365.

"How I pick up the throttle, the gear usage, how early I am on the throttle, and the data was telling us that this was probably the reason [I was struggling], but it turned out it wasn't the reason.

"So all of that effort over the course of three sessions, trying to re-optimise my driving around a new technique, was kind of for nothing.

"If I focus on the simple things, I know that is when I perform at my best, but we're not in a simplistic sport, so saying let's just solely focus on the simple things is easier said than done, sometimes."