Mercedes may have a hidden weakness lurking beneath its dominant start to the 2026 season.

George Russell’s retirement while leading in Canada was caused by a battery failure, and the team still does not know exactly what went wrong.

According to Austria newspaper Osterreich, the damaged battery was so severely compromised that it could not be flown back to Europe for investigation.

Instead, for safety reasons, the unit is currently being shipped across the Atlantic by sea.

“The battery in Canada was a total loss,” the report said. “Transport by plane was too dangerous.”

That means Mercedes engineers face a frustrating wait before they can begin a full forensic analysis.

“The responsible engineers have to be patient before they can start investigating the cause,” the newspaper added.

The affected component has been replaced for Monaco, but concern grew on Friday in Monaco when Mercedes-powered McLaren driver Lando Norris stopped on track during second practice with what appeared to be an electrical failure.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the issue was battery-related.

McLaren chief designer Rob Marshall stopped short of confirming that.

“It could be anything, but it’s electrical,” he said.

The Norris stoppage also resulted in a 30,000 euro fine after marshals were unable to place the car into neutral.

According to the stewards, “The team admitted that for aerodynamic purposes, it had placed transparent tape over the button that is required to be pressed to activate the CDS”.

The incident occurred as McLaren celebrates its 1000th grand prix in Monaco – even though the team admits it used some creative mathematics.

“No, we haven’t forgotten how to count,” spokesman Luca Colajani told Bild newspaper. “This statistic, according to which we’re running our 999th race, refers to the Indianapolis GP (of 2005).

“We included that one, even though we only did the formation lap.”

While McLaren and Mercedes search for answers, Ferrari has emerged as the early pace-setter in Monaco.

George Russell said the Scuderia’s speed was no surprise. “Many people thought we were just talking, but obviously not.”

Russell admitted Max Verstappen’s competitiveness had also caught Mercedes off guard.

“Red Bull was a surprise for us,” he said. “We knew this track would be a challenge, maybe a bigger challenge than we expected.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists the championship battle between runaway leader Kimi Antonelli and Russell remains free from team orders – for now.

“We will refrain from team orders for as long as possible – and if possible, completely,” he told Bild.

“We don’t believe we need them and we let the drivers drive.”

He admitted the pair came close to crossing the line in Canada. “In Canada, they almost exceeded it, but we cleared that up in a discussion,” said the Austrian.

“Kimi and George know what they owe Mercedes,” he said.

“Of course, drivers prefer to win the Drivers’ World Championship rather than the Constructors’, but the team comes first.”