Russell dismisses talk of Mercedes’ 2026 engine advantage: “You Should Be Looking at Red Bull”

George Russell has pushed back firmly against suggestions that Mercedes holds a competitive advantage with the new 2026 Formula 1 power units, insisting that Red Bull — not his own team — is the benchmark after early testing.

Speaking after the opening pre‑season sessions in Barcelona and Bahrain, Russell described Red Bull’s energy‑deployment performance as “pretty scary” and said the reigning champions remain the clear favourites heading into the new era.

Russell said the first tests under the new regulations have exposed the gap between Red Bull and the rest of the field, despite winter speculation that Mercedes’ new power unit could be the strongest.

“Well, I do think this test has been a bit of a reality check for all of us. Firstly, a huge amount of chat regarding Mercedes and our power unit in the winter, all of which is speculation, because nobody knows anything at that point.”

He stressed that Red Bull immediately set the tone from the very first laps of 2026 running.

“And the truth is, Red Bull in Barcelona, day one hit the ground running, and were well ahead of all of their competitors, so ourselves, Ferrari and the others. Day one here in Bahrain, again, they sort of knocked it out the park.”

Russell said the consistency of Red Bull’s advantage across both tests leaves little doubt about the early competitive order.

“So they are, at the moment, very much the team to beat. And you know, it's quite straightforward when you have three days of testing in the same location to make those improvements.

But when you get to Melbourne and you've got three practice sessions, you've got three hours of practice before qualifying, based on what we've seen in Barcelona and Bahrain, Red Bull are going to be ahead.”

When told that Max Verstappen believes rivals are hiding their true potential, Russell acknowledged that Ferrari also appears competitive.

“And when we compare ourselves, not only to Red Bull, but also Ferrari, they also look in a good place. I think we've delivered a very strong car this year.

"But of course, all of the chat around our competitiveness for this season was based on the power unit side. There will be big development, but right now, Red Bull are the team to beat in that area.”

Asked whether Mercedes has a contingency plan if the FIA adjusts engine regulations mid‑season, Russell dismissed the idea that Mercedes should be the focus of attention.

“I don't think anybody should really be looking at us. You should be looking at the most competitive car on the grid, which right now is the Red Bull.”

He added that Red Bull’s strength is nothing new. “And Red Bull have always delivered a very good car over the past 15 years, even when they didn't have a great engine. So yeah, this test has been really eye‑opening for a lot of us.”