Russell Targets Title Battle with Verstappen in 2026

Mercedes driver George Russell has expressed his ambition to compete directly with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 championship in the 2026 season. Speaking at the official launch of Mercedes' new car on Monday, the 27-year-old British driver said he would

"love for it to turn out that way."

Russell also addressed the expectations placed on him as a pre-season favourite, stating that it did not increase his pressure.

"I do want to go head-to-head with Max and obviously Lando [Norris, McLaren's world champion] had a great season last year but, no, it didn't add any more pressure,"

he said.

Russell's Performance and New Regulations

Since joining Mercedes in 2022, Russell has secured five Formula 1 race wins but has yet to have a consistently competitive car capable of challenging for the drivers' championship. The 2026 season introduces the most significant regulatory changes in F1 history, with new cars, engines, tyres, and fuel all coming into effect.

Reflecting on the first test in Barcelona, Russell noted that while Mercedes had a positive start, other teams, particularly Red Bull, impressed him. Red Bull is debuting its first in-house engine developed in partnership with Ford this season.

"Probably the fans and people were expecting potentially Mercedes versus McLaren because there was a lot of anticipation that Mercedes would clearly have the best power unit,"

Russell said.

"But it seems like the other power-unit manufacturers have done a good job and we know that Red Bull have always had an amazing car. Even through the years of dominance of Mercedes, it was their engine that was letting them down not their car and we obviously know how good Max is. So I think he's very much going to be in the fight this year and that is great."

Managing Expectations at Mercedes

Both Russell and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff tempered expectations, emphasizing the early stage of the season and the uncertainty about which team will be most competitive.

"It's still very early days but, quoting Toto, it doesn't look like it's a turd, which is a bonus,"

Russell remarked.

"In the early days like this, you know when it could be a really bad car and you can sort of highlight those negatives early on. We don't believe it is, but is it a car that can produce a world championship? It's still way too early to say."

Wolff added,

"We don't have really a performance picture yet because we haven't seen Max driving the car fast and we haven't seen McLaren and Ferrari doing what they can do. So I would carefully refrain from saying that was great for us. We simply don't know."

Russell on New Cars and Driving Dynamics

Russell expressed readiness to contend for the title and shared a generally positive view of the new generation of Formula 1 cars. These vehicles are smaller and lighter than last year's models, with energy management playing a more significant role due to the 50-50 power split between the internal combustion engine and the hybrid system.

"The faster driver will be the one who still comes out on top. I don't think it will be an engineering race from the cockpit,"

Russell said. He will continue to be partnered by Italian driver Kimi Antonelli for a second season, while Dane Frederik Vesti has been appointed as Mercedes' official third driver.

"Definitely still is Formula 1, it still very much feels like a race car and you're still very much pushing the limits but you are driving it differently."

Wolff also commented on the aesthetics and expected racing dynamics of the new cars:

"They look spectacular. They look like Formula 1 cars now again. They're not too small, they're not too big, they're not like the whales of the past. The aesthetics are very good.

And that is super-exciting, where and when and how a driver is going to deploy it and optimise that. We are going to see much more overtaking. We're going to see it in areas that we wouldn't expect it."

Addressing Rival Teams' Complaints on Mercedes' Engine

Wolff dismissed allegations from rival teams that Mercedes' engine might violate regulations. Audi, Ferrari, and Honda have lodged complaints with the FIA, suspecting that Mercedes has exploited a loophole regarding the engine's compression ratio.

The regulation mandates a maximum compression ratio of 16:1, measured at ambient temperature in the garage. Rivals fear that Mercedes and Red Bull have used materials technology and thermal expansion to effectively increase the compression ratio during on-track operation.

"I just don't understand that some teams ...