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George Russell backed for F1 title after 'hard yards' Mercedes experience
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George Russell backed for F1 title after 'hard yards' Mercedes experience

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle believes George Russell may be rewarded this year for the “hard yards” he has endured so far in his career. Russell joined the grid as a Mercedes junior driver in 2019, spending three uncompetitive years at the back of the field with Williams. In 2022, he received a promotion to Mercedes right as the Brackley-based squad suffered a slip down in the pecking order as a new regulation cycle came into play. The latest rules reset is in effect this year and following an impressive shakedown event from Barcelona, Mercedes is being tipped by many to lead the pack at the opening round of the year. Together with team-mate Kimi Antonelli, Brundle backed Russell to embark on a successful campaign for Mercedes. “He must sense there's a chance of a world championship here, George Russell,” Brundle told Sky F1. “Kimi Antonelli will be even closer to him this year. He's got that experience under his belt, he went on the missing list last year for nine races.  “But impressively, for such a young man, he kept his head together and brought that around and gave George a much closer run in the final stage of the season “They're two very well-matched drivers, but these cars will be quite flighty from time to time in certain conditions - safety car restarts, wet/dry, 'will it-won't it?' kind of moments.” With Russell entering his eighth F1 campaign, Brundle has backed the Briton to use his experience to come out on top in the head-to-head fight once again - but does not feel Antonelli is in danger of being ousted if he does not keep pace with his team-mate. “George's experience will show. If I had to guess, I'd put my money on George on season long. But those two will be mightily strong,” he said. “[Kimi] has got so much support in the team, so much support from Toto and everybody. “He's the heir apparent there. that's quite obvious. He doesn't have to keep looking over his shoulder all the time.  “He can just get Bono in his ear, which is brilliant for him. What a pairing. What a great lineup they've got.  “George looks very reassured, don't you think?  “He's spent a long time at Williams, He then moved to Mercedes just as they stopped winning a lot of everything, basically.  “He's put in the hard yards, and maybe this is his moment.”

George Russell delcared F1 title 'favourite' as key Mercedes advantage highlighted
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George Russell delcared F1 title 'favourite' as key Mercedes advantage highlighted

George Russell has been declared the championship favourite for the upcoming F1 season by former driver Karun Chandhok. Mercedes enjoyed a highly successful shakedown event in Barcelona earlier this week, tallying 502 laps across the event - the most of any team. As early as last year, rumblings of the strength of Mercedes' new power unit emerged as many picked the Brackley-based squad to commence the sport's new era on top, as they did in 2014 when the engines last went through a significant change. Chandhok highlighted Mercedes' status as a works team will serve it well at the start of a new era, leading the Indian to select Russell as his early pick for the title. “He [Russell] is my championship favourite,” Chandhok told Sky F1 . “What we're hearing from a lot of the drivers is the word 'systems'. “This year, having a team from a chassis and power unit side as an integrated operation - which really, it's Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari [and Red Bull] - there are now four. “Two of them have the excuse of being newbies, Audi and Red Bull. “For Ferrari and Mercedes, there are no real excuses, because they are the works teams.” Mercedes will also supply power units to McLaren, Williams and Alpine. McLaren has enjoyed significant success over the last two years despite being a customer team, winning back-to-back constructors' titles and the drivers' championship with Lando Norris last season. However, with such a major change coming to the engines this year, Chandhok stated the integrated Mercedes workforce across both sites will give the German manufacturer an advantage. “And although, in terms of hardware, by regulation, McLaren and the other customers have to get the same power units as the works Mercedes team, I just think having both sides talking to each other so much more in an integrated way has to be an advantage in the early stage of this power unit regulation,” he said. “For me, that puts George as the favourite for the season.”

Mercedes reveal Bahrain test insight after successful Barcelona shakedown
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Mercedes reveal Bahrain test insight after successful Barcelona shakedown

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has explained the team's approach to the upcoming Bahrain pre-season test. The Brackley-based squad enjoyed a highly positive Barcelona shakedown as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli clocked 502 laps between them throughout three days of running. Such was the efficiency of the event, Shovlin previously noted that Mercedes had ticked all of its boxes across the first two days of on-track action. Having given the W17 car its initial run at a Silverstone event prior to its appearance in Barcelona, Shovlin asserted both outings have proven successful for Mercedes. “For every event, whether it was the shakedown in Silverstone or the first test, we have an idea of what objectives we want to achieve,” he said.  “We've pretty much ticked all of those boxes for these two.” Bahrain will host two tests next month, running from February 11 - 13, before the final pre-season outing on February 18 - 20. Mercedes head to the Bahrain tests in strong shape as Shovlin outlined that the focus will shift more to extracting pace from the car. “Bahrain, we're going to move more to set up exploration, trying to work out how you get the car in the right window,” he said. “And while you can do setup here [in Barcelona], it's so cold, it's not really relevant to any race track.  “Bahrain is going to be a much better place to check that the car runs well at temperature, both in terms of the chassis performance side but also just the systems running effectively. “That final Bahrain [test] hopefully will be more just about the race preparation.  “So preparing for qualifying, preparing for the race, and all the situations that that throws up.”

Mercedes reveal impressive scale of 'encouraging' F1 2026 start
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Mercedes reveal impressive scale of 'encouraging' F1 2026 start

Mercedes has reached all of its objectives from the Barcelona shakedown after just two days of running. The Brackley-based squad enjoyed an encouraging opening day of on-track action on Monday as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli tallied up 151 laps between them. Mercedes returned to the track on Wednesday for their second of three allowed days and clocked another 183 laps - taking its total count for the week up to 334. It has not been bogged down by any major reliability concerns, which has allowed it to carry out its scheduled programme largely uninterrupted. “We’re pretty pleased with [Wednesday], obviously two days done out of the three,” trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said. “We’ve more or less ticked all our objectives from the first and the second [day]. “So really pleased with how the car has gone. We managed to do over two race distances [on Wednesday] with it. “Both drivers feeling that now - but the car was going strong at the end. So that was really encouraging.” Other teams have run into various issues, causing red flags after being forced to stop on the track. Shovlin suggested the disruptions from other teams are the biggest obstacles Mercedes is navigating to get through its programme. “Mileage, we are a bit ahead of where we'd hoped to be, so that's good,” he said. “Normally you’d expect to have a few teething problems, the odd reliability thing that costs you track time. “The car worked faultlessly. We're actually losing more track time from other people breaking down and causing red flags than for anything on our side. “In terms of data gathered, we're getting there, but as all the electrical systems are new, there's still quite a few issues that we're bottoming out with collecting the data and making sure everything is as accurate as we normally have it. “But as I said, we had a long list of objectives and if anything, we’re slightly ahead of where we expected to be on day two.”

LIVE: 2026 F1 Barcelona Pre-Season Test - Day 4
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LIVE: 2026 F1 Barcelona Pre-Season Test - Day 4

The penultimate F1 shakedown event takes place today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Mercedes enjoyed another strong day on Wednesday as the Brackley-based squad clocked almost 200 laps between both of its drivers. Not only did it boast the most mileage, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell ended the day in first and second place, respectively. Just two more days remain for the teams to collect data ahead of the next pre-season test in Bahrain. For some squads, today could mark the final day of on-track action if they opt to run. We will provide you with all of the happenings we can during the day of running, which you can follow in the live updates below!

Mercedes highlight 'monumental' scale of F1 2026 journey
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Mercedes highlight 'monumental' scale of F1 2026 journey

Mercedes trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin has stated the F1 2026 rule change has been the “biggest project” the team has ever undertaken. The Brackley-based squad gave the W17 challenger its on-track debut at a shakedown at Silverstone before taking to the track on Monday in Barcelona as part of the first pre-season outing. A brand new power unit has been built by Mercedes, as well as a fresh chassis with vastly different aerodynamic rules. With the engine in production for several years, Shovlin asserted the scale of the project has not been lost on the team. “It has been an absolutely monumental project,” he said. “And on the power unit side in Brixworth, they've been working on it for years. “It’s a very, very difficult and challenging program. You've also got all the complexity that the fuel development throws into that with Petronas. “And then on the chassis side, a completely new set of regulations. Coupled with that, we've got all new electronic systems. “It’s the biggest project we've ever done as a team.” Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli got behind the wheel on Monday, tallying 151 laps between them. It marked a strong start for the team, who is hoping to enter the year ahead of title challengers. “We don't know where we stand in terms of performance, but we are able to keep the car out on track, which is great because we'll be able to hopefully learn at a good rate,” Shovlin added. “It’s a testament to, in some cases, years of preparation for these early days.” Mercedes' strong start continued on Wednesday, with Russell tallying 92 laps in the morning segment.

George Russell delivers 'pretty impressive' verdict as new Mercedes era begins
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George Russell delivers 'pretty impressive' verdict as new Mercedes era begins

George Russell has stated he found the opening day of on-track action in Barcelona “pretty impressive” as a new era of F1 got underway. Barcelona is hosting the first pre-season test of the year, with teams allowed to choose three days this week to run their cars. Mercedes was one of seven teams to take to the track on Monday, with Kimi Antonelli tackling morning duties before handing over to Russell in the afternoon. Russell clocked 95 laps for the Brackley-based squad, with the team totalling over 700km during the first day. With this year's power units undergoing significant change this year, Russell has been left impressed by their early performance. “It’s amazing just to be back out driving again,” Russell said.  “I think at the end of the year everyone’s looking forward to a break, but then after a week or two you’re raring to go again. “There was obviously a lot of anticipation for these new power units, and so far, just generally on the whole, the amount of power they give is pretty impressive.  “I think for all the cars I was watching today, with all the different power units, it’s probably the quickest I’ve ever seen an F1 car pass here in Barcelona, so that was pretty exciting to see. “And the cars, you feel it being smaller, you can feel that weight reduction compared to previous years, so I think from that aspect as well it’s gone in a good direction.” George Russell impressed by F1 rivals Also joining Mercedes on the track were debutants Cadillac and Audi, as well as Red Bull's brand new in-house built engine. Ahead of the new era, it was speculated that the sport could see 2014-esque breakdowns, which saw very limited running when the turbo-hybrid units were first introduced. But Russell admitted to being wowed by the efficiency of other teams at such an early stage of the season. “For sure, we’re very pleased with the day, but I was pretty impressed with a number of other teams, to be honest,” he said. “You see the Red Bull-powered teams’ brand new power unit, they’re like a brand-new team from a power unit side, and they had a really smooth day with two cars. “Audi had some good laps in there as well, and I think Haas did the most laps of everyone with a Ferrari engine.  “It’s not quite 2014 vibes of half the grid is breaking down and having loads of issues – I think Formula 1’s evolved so much since then and the level’s just so high. “From every single aspect, it was pretty impressive to see all the teams on the whole having a lot of laps under their belt on day one.”

Mercedes rivals handed stark warning after Kimi Antonelli issues high praise
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Mercedes rivals handed stark warning after Kimi Antonelli issues high praise

Kimi Antonelli has handed Mercedes' rivals an early warning after praising the initial performance of the Silver Arrows' power unit. The 19-year-old was the first driver to exit the pit lane at the start of the opening day of the official shakedown test in Barcelona, before handing the W17 over to George Russell. In cold conditions, Antonelli completed 55 laps, the best of which was a 1m 20.700. He very much enjoyed being back behind the wheel and gaining an understanding of F1's new power unit regulations. "Yeah, it was a very interesting morning—very nice to be back in the car, of course," Antonelli told F1TV . "It's a massive learning experience. "We've been trying to tune the power unit and the car. Obviously, this afternoon the car has improved a lot.  "It's a constant learning process, so the most important thing is trying to get as much running as possible, in order to tune the power unit and the car in the best way possible." Heading into the new regulations, Mercedes is very much considered the early favourite, given how dominant it was when the turbo-hybrid engines were introduced back in 2014. The opening day in Barcelona painted a very positive picture for the Brackley-based team, with George Russell completing an additional 93 laps in the afternoon. Speaking specifically about the performance of Mercedes' engine, Antonelli praised the Silver Arrows for the job they have done, adding that the car already feels good. "I have to say the team has done a really good job on the power unit side," added Antonelli. "Drivability, which was a big question mark, seems to be good so far. "So obviously, it's early days, and that's why, with the running, we will discover a lot more about the car and the power unit. We'll be able to see where it's lacking and where it's actually good. But so far, the package is feeling good."