George Russell has admitted concerns about Mercedes’ poor race starts compared to Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2026 F1 season opener.
The sport’s new car, due to arrive in 2026, has undergone significant regulation changes and features both a new power unit and chassis, giving drivers a much different challenge to effectively exit the grid.
The FIA is trialling a new start procedure at this week’s final pre-season test event in Bahrain to ensure drivers have enough time to prepare their cars for lights out, but even with the tweaks there appears to be greater variation than seen in recent years.
“I think we have a lot of potential,” Russell said. He is tipped by bookmakers as favorite for the drivers’ title after Mercedes’ overall impressive pre-season performance.
“But you also have to start pretty well off the line to win races. And I think the two starts I had this week were worse than my worst start in F1.”
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George Russell admits two starts in Bahrain were ‘worse than my worst start in F1’
Ferrari appears to have designed a power unit that can best cope with the new challenges at the moment, and Hamilton showed this when he pulled off a stunning escape at the start of practice at the end of each of Thursday’s two sessions at Sakhir.
Russell continued: “And Lewis went from being down in 11th to moving up to first. So I don’t think it matters how fast you are at this stage.”
“I think that’s going to trip you up. That’s going to be the highest bar. And that’s what we’re preoccupied with right now, but we’re tripping up some things at the moment.”
Piastri: Early season start could be ‘very random’
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who uses the same Mercedes engine as Russell, should have a relatively similar starting experience, doesn’t seem too worried.
But the Australian has warned that there could be wide variations in the start of the season’s opening races, the first of which is the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, which could be delayed until all teams have reached the culmination of the challenge and the field has assembled.
“I didn’t think my run was that bad yesterday. I was last, but I think I passed about four cars as well. I think it’s very coincidental at the moment and I think we’re all learning what’s a good start and what’s a bad start,” Piastri said.
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Hamilton also had a good run at the end of Thursday’s opening session.
“There are some pretty big pitfalls, if you get into trouble you’ll find them, but just managing the power and procedures is kind of something, but just the way you start is a lot more difficult than last year.
“It’s more troubling from all angles. And I think what we’re seeing now is that some people get things right, and some people get things very wrong.
“So, certainly in the first few races, we might see some starts like we had this week. But if it’s on the downside, I think it will hopefully start to wind down pretty quickly.”
Russell wary of Red Bull threat in Australia
Despite the consensus in the paddock throughout pre-season that Mercedes were the team to beat, Russell insisted he was still very wary of the threat Red Bull would pose in the opening round.
At the first of two test events in Bahrain last week, Russell observed that Red Bull’s energy deployment was giving it a “terrible” advantage over the rest of the field, which surprised many given the Milton Keynes team is producing its own engine for the first time.
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George Russell first revealed his concerns about Red Bull’s performance in Bahrain last week.
The Briton admitted Mercedes had closed the gap in its division after six days of practice in Bahrain, but is concerned about whether Red Bull will be able to hit the ground running with just three hours of practice before qualifying in Melbourne.
“Their development definitely looked the best on the grid, so kudos to them, but I think it was a bit of a surprise for everyone,” Russell said.
“So I think I’ll come to Melbourne and see how things shake out.
“The Mercedes-powered team has made a lot of improvements since the first day in Bahrain last week, so I think the gap has closed significantly.
“But in Bahrain it’s obviously the sixth day of testing, but in Melbourne we have three hours of practice, so that’s the biggest concern.”
Red Bull chief Laurent Mequise downplayed the team’s pace earlier in the week, claiming they were lagging behind traditional “big four” rivals Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, but four-time world champion Max Verstappen has impressed throughout testing.
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