Mercedes confirmed a fault in the power‑unit battery caused the retirements of George Russell in Canada and Kimi Antonelli in Barcelona. Both drivers were running in the top two when the cars lost power, prompting technical director James Allison to label the problem “the module” and announce work on a permanent fix. The issue also echoed in McLaren’s recent electrical woes.

Toto Wolff warned that the string of DNFs cannot be tolerated in a championship battle, noting the two retirements have stripped Mercedes of roughly 43 points. Ferrari now sits within striking distance, narrowing the Constructors’ gap to 72 points. Allison added that while the team strives to catch failures in testing, extreme race conditions can expose hidden weaknesses, forcing a temporary reduction in performance targets.

With the Austrian Grand Prix looming, Mercedes will begin phasing new battery modules into its fleet, hoping the “proper cure” arrives before the next five‑week sprint block. The team’s immediate response will be to run the cars slightly less aggressively while engineers validate the redesign. Until then, the reliability gap remains a tangible obstacle to maintaining their championship lead.