George Russell says Mercedes’ 2026 car is already “ticking the boxes” on track, though it’s “way too early” to know if it can win a world championship.
Russell and Mercedes have been installed as pre-season favourites by bookmakers for this year’s Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, with the team tipped to benefit from F1’s revised engine and chassis rules. Mercedes appeared to underline that status by completing the most laps at last week’s Barcelona shakedown — 500 — with the new W17 showing immediate reliability.
“Obviously we’ve only driven the car for three days and it’s still very early days but, quoting Toto [Wolff], it doesn’t look like it’s a turd, which is a bonus,” Russell said as Mercedes formally launched their 2026 season. He added that early tests can expose the really bad cars quickly, and while Mercedes don’t believe theirs is among those, it’s too soon to declare it a championship winner.
Russell admitted the team had been “quite surprised” by some rivals’ early form, particularly Red Bull, who have produced their own engine for the first time. “From what we’ve seen so far they’ve definitely delivered,” he said, praising the new Red Bull power unit’s early performance and reliability. He also noted Ferrari’s power unit looked reliable — Ferrari-powered Haas completed many laps at the test — suggesting a potentially strong fight at the front.
Mercedes have deliberately tempered expectations after the disappointment when technical rules changed in 2022. Russell stressed the team wanted to be cautious, noting they left Barcelona feeling positive because the car’s aerodynamic numbers and on-track behaviour matched simulator predictions — something Mercedes had not experienced consistently since 2021.
“We’re sort of ticking the boxes on everything that we want to tick but we can’t discount our rivals,” Russell said. “So the truth is there could be a good fight on our hands, but we’re satisfied with what we’ve experienced so far.”
On the prospect of a title fight with Max Verstappen, Russell was clear: he’d welcome it. A competitive debut season from Red Bull’s new power unit would almost certainly keep four-time champion Verstappen in the hunt. “I’d love for it to turn out that way,” Russell said. “I do want to go head to head with Max … But no, [being title favourite] doesn’t add any more pressure.”
Russell acknowledged Lando Norris and McLaren — last year’s champions — will be contenders, and he singled out Aston Martin’s first car designed by Adrian Newey as “spectacular” and not to be discounted. “The best-case scenario from the sport and also for the drivers is that you’ve got a number of different drivers and a number of different teams all battling it out,” he said. He listed Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes as the four teams appearing close, while noting Honda’s past engine form with Red Bull shows what they’re capable of.
Testing continues with two official Bahrain pre-season tests, which will have media present and live timing available. The Bahrain tests are scheduled for February 11-13 and 18-20. After those, teams have two weeks to prepare for the season opener: the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, with practice on Friday March 6, qualifying on Saturday March 7 and the race on Sunday March 8.
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.