MPH: Revealed – the fault behind Mercedes’ Belgian GP deployment chaos
George Russell’s Belgian Grand Prix was wrecked by a software fault buried deep in Mercedes’ code. Mark Hughes explains what really happened
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Twenty years after Jenson Button’s breakthrough grand prix win at the Hungaroring, Matt Bishop reflects on rain, redemption, and why patience remains F1’s most underrated virtue
Max Verstappen’s driving standards haven’t dipped at all, but in a formula built on energy management over instinct, even the four-time F1 champion appears unable to out-drive his car anymore
Kimi Antonelli delivered his sixth F1 victory of 2026 at the Belgian Grand Prix, writes Mark Hughes. But this year’s cars and their energy limitations made Spa-Francorchamps a shadow of the challenge it usually is
This year’s F1 cars have never raced in the rain – which Spa’s unpredictable mini-climate could deliver at the Belgian GP. Is the combination of high-torque, low downforce cars a recipe for disaster, or a chance for wet-weather aces to shine?
Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes
Formula 1’s silly season is in full swing. But suggestions of a shock move by Max Verstappen don’t seem that daft: see the latest episode to find out why
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso’s dreams of fighting for the F1 title were shattered by their underperforming cars. It could mean both leave Formula 1 at the end of the season, but Mark Hughes wonders whether silly season could see them involved in a shock deal
Belgian GP briefing
Mercedes protecting a lead, Ferrari aiming for a second win in a row, Red Bull bracing for more pain – Spa’s demands look set to punish whoever’s weakest
Watch F1 via live stream or on TV: dates and start time for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
George Russell’s Belgian Grand Prix was wrecked by a software fault buried deep in Mercedes’ code. Mark Hughes explains what really happened
Twenty years after Jenson Button’s breakthrough grand prix win at the Hungaroring, Matt Bishop reflects on rain, redemption, and why patience remains F1’s most underrated virtue
Max Verstappen’s driving standards haven’t dipped at all, but in a formula built on energy management over instinct, even the four-time F1 champion appears unable to out-drive his car anymore
Kimi Antonelli delivered his sixth F1 victory of 2026 at the Belgian Grand Prix, writes Mark Hughes. But this year’s cars and their energy limitations made Spa-Francorchamps a shadow of the challenge it usually is
This year’s F1 cars have never raced in the rain – which Spa’s unpredictable mini-climate could deliver at the Belgian GP. Is the combination of high-torque, low downforce cars a recipe for disaster, or a chance for wet-weather aces to shine?
Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes
Formula 1’s silly season is in full swing. But suggestions of a shock move by Max Verstappen don’t seem that daft: see the latest episode to find out why
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso’s dreams of fighting for the F1 title were shattered by their underperforming cars. It could mean both leave Formula 1 at the end of the season, but Mark Hughes wonders whether silly season could see them involved in a shock deal
Belgian GP briefing
Mercedes protecting a lead, Ferrari aiming for a second win in a row, Red Bull bracing for more pain – Spa’s demands look set to punish whoever’s weakest
Watch F1 via live stream or on TV: dates and start time for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
Lando Norris’s soaring confidence and an improved McLaren mean we’re witnessing a Formula 1 driver at his outer limits, Mark Hughes argues
Fast enough to build an unassailable lead, Lando Norris was too quick to catch the VSC pit window. And so his flawless F1 Madring weekend ended cruelly, as even the winner acknowledged, Mark Hughes says
With a brand new surface and a tyre-punishing banked Turn 12, Madrid’s inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend could reshuffle the Mercedes-McLaren-Ferrari pecking order once again, writes Mark Hughes
Two consecutive victories from pole for McLaren’s Lando Norris to bring him within 83 points of Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead with half the season still to go had Mercedes’ Toto…
The Dutch Grand Prix was an exciting way to kick off the second half of the season after the summer break. Following on from Lando Norris’s dominant victory in Budapest…
Monaco Lewis Hamilton Many had written off Lewis Hamilton in F1 – too long in the tooth at 41, a poor fit with Ferrari, the rise of rivals, and so…
A secret Teddington wind tunnel shared with torpedo tests and a particle accelerator gave McLaren its first taste of porpoising four decades before the sport rediscovered it
There’s no version of the VSC rule that’s fair to everyone, and the Spanish GP just proved it again
The 2027 Formula 1 season will include ten sprint races, including a Monaco round: here’s what it means for next year
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