# Is It the Car or George? Inside Mercedes' Spa Fallout

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/high-performance-racing-7812001/is-it-the-car-or-george-inside-mercedes-spa-fallout
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/high-performance-racing-7812001/is-it-the-car-or-george-inside-mercedes-spa-fallout.md
Podcast: [High Performance Racing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/high-performance-racing-7812001)
Published: 2026-07-22T02:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/highperformanceracing/episodes/mercedes-rift-russells-disaster-kimi-redemption-astons-80-hu
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69ce5a39d2e95f51314b864a/e/6a5fdc8efa136e7931d21fa5/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/high-performance-racing-7812001/episodes/is-it-the-car-or-george-inside-mercedes-spa-fallout
Duration seconds: 4890

## Resource

Jake, Rob Smedley and Otmar react to a Belgian Grand Prix that reshaped the championship. Twelve months after admitting he'd "probably reached the bottom" at Spa, Kimi Antonelli returns to the same track and delivers a flawless win over Charles Leclerc, extending his title lead to 45 points. George Russell doesn't survive the first corner. Rob takes us into the Engineering Dark Web to explain exactly why George is losing time to his teammate — and Otmar and Rob put the theory to the test that's dividing the Mercedes garage: is this a car problem, a George problem, or both? Toto Wolff says it's "50% the car." George isn't fully convinced. Rob's verdict is blunter still: beat your teammate, or leave. Also in this episode: The Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen parallel that explains exactly what's happening to George right now Why Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen's contract clauses both come to a head this weekend in Hungary Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin verdict — an 80% new car arrives in Budapest with zero testing, and it might decide whether he stays Why 400,000 fans at Spa still wasn't enough to save it from the 2028 and 2030 calendar Bullsh*t Corner nominations, your questions answered, and the usual dad jokes New episodes of High Performance Racing every week, subscribe so you don't miss one. AG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing  to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit, a month's supply of Omega3 capsules and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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