George Russell had a challenging race at the Bahrain Grand Prix but still managed to finish in second place. Throughout the race, he had to deal with several problems with his W16.

One issue was with the DRS. He also had trouble communicating with his team and experienced a braking issue that made it harder to control the car.

At one point, Russell tried to use a back-up button to speak with his team, but accidentally pressed a button that also activates the DRS. This happened outside the allowed zone for using DRS, which would usually lead to a penalty. However, Russell immediately realised the mistake and backed off, actually losing more time than he gained.

In addition to his in-car issues, Russell also had to deal with a problem involving a third-party transponder, which briefly affected the live timing data shown on TV and momentarily placed him at the bottom of the leaderboard.

This issue also interfered with the automatic DRS activation system, which relies on accurate position and timing information. As a result, the FIA authorised Mercedes to switch to manual DRS mode for safety and clarity.

“I don’t really know how that happened,” he said in parc fermé.

“It was something to do with all these failures we were having. As soon as I saw it opened, I backed off. I lost two tenths of a second. It never happened again throughout. I didn’t actually click the DRS button – I clicked another button and it opened.

“As I said, I lost a lot more than I gained – I don’t think I even gained anything because it was open for less than a second.”

The race stewards later reviewed the data and confirmed that the DRS was only open for a very short distance (just 37 metres). He gained only 0.02 seconds but lost 0.28 seconds in the next corner. Since he didn’t get any real advantage and the was caused by a mix of technical issues, the FIA decided not to give him a penalty.

“At the time the driver was experiencing a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic issues. He was at that time advised to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a back-up radio button but also serves as a manual DRS activation button,” the verdict from the FIA stewards read.

“On the straight between Turns 10 and 11 he tried to radio the team using this button but instead accidentally activated the DRS. The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres.

“Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry.

"Accordingly, whilst technically a breach occurred the Stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.”

Despite all the problems, Russell managed to keep Lando Norris behind him in the final laps. He said the car was very difficult to drive, and if the race had lasted one more lap, Norris probably would have passed him.

“Yeah, it felt all under control for a moment and then suddenly we had a brake-by-wire failure,” he said. “So suddenly the pedal was going long, and then it was going short… I didn’t know what was going on.

“The steering wheel wasn’t working properly, so it was really hard fought to keep Lando behind. I think one more lap, he would have got me pretty comfortably. But nevertheless, really, really pleased with P2.”