New Delhi, July 28 : George Russell has called on Mercedes to 'revert back' to their earlier-season setup after the team endured another underwhelming performance at the Belgian Grand Prix. Despite finishing fifth at Spa-Francorchamps, Russell admitted the result flattered the true pace of the car, as he finished more than 35 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri.

The Briton gained just one position during a relatively uneventful race, benefiting early from Alex Albon's struggles in the wet conditions. But beyond that, Mercedes were largely unable to challenge the front-runners.

'We need to understand why we've lost so much pace in recent races,' Russell was quoted as saying by Formula 1.com. 'Of course, it's frustrating for all of us as a team. P5 was probably flattering the real pace of the car, so I'm at least happy we got the maximum possible.'

Mercedes had shown promise earlier in the season ' Russell himself clinched victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in June ' but the last three races have seen a marked dip in performance. According to Russell, the slide may be traced to a strategic shift the team made two months ago.

'We made a clear change of direction a couple of months ago, and I think since that point we've taken a step backwards. Sometimes it takes a few races to understand what the real reasons are for that lack of pace, but clearly it seems like we need to revert back to what we had earlier in the season.'

Meanwhile, rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli had a tougher outing in Belgium. The 18-year-old Italian failed to make it past Q1 in qualifying for both the Sprint and the main race. After overnight setup changes ' including a new front wing designed to boost downforce ' Antonelli started from the pit lane and made two pit stops en route to a P16 finish.

Despite the result, Antonelli drew positives from the adjustments and felt more at ease in the car.

'Today I had more confidence in the car, definitely with the new wing, I had more stability, and that was helping,' Antonelli said. 'Also, the car felt more connected, so I definitely took some confidence back.'

Looking ahead to the next round in Budapest, Antonelli is focused on turning around his qualifying form ' crucial on the twisty, overtaking-unfriendly Hungaroring.

'Now is the time to really try and work for Qualifying because when you start at the front, it's completely another story,' he said. 'Especially for Budapest, where it's even harder to overtake, we really need to do a good Qualifying and start at the front.'

/IANS