George Russell satisfied with Mercedes’ pre-season test performance
George Russell expressed satisfaction with Mercedes’ opening day at the Barcelona pre-season test, whilst acknowledging the strong showing from several competitors, reports BritPanorama.
The British driver completed 95 laps during the afternoon session on Monday, following teammate Kimi Antonelli’s morning stint, with the team accumulating more than 700 kilometres of running. Seven teams participated in Monday’s closed-door activity at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Russell remarked, “We are pleased with our day, but I’ve also been impressed by several other teams too,” after getting out of the W17. He described the experience as “exciting” and noted that returning to the cockpit felt rewarding after the winter break.
Russell reserved particular praise for Red Bull’s debut power unit, which the team has developed in-house for the first time. “The Red Bull power unit has completed a lot of laps which, given that it’s their first engine they’ve built, means they’ve clearly done a good job,” he stated. Furthermore, he highlighted Red Bull’s pace advantage on the straights, noting that their speed traces showed them “considerably ahead” of both Ferrari and Mercedes.
The four-time constructors’ champions completed substantial mileage with Isack Hadjar at the wheel, impressing Russell with their reliability. “They’ve got really good straight-line speed at the moment,” he added. “The car looks very together in that sense.” Russell also commended the Ferrari power unit’s performance, which propelled Haas to an impressive tally during Monday’s running.
“Haas also managed a similar amount of running to ourselves, so the Ferrari power unit has also put together plenty of mileage,” Russell noted. The American outfit reportedly completed more laps than any other team on the opening day, demonstrating the Italian manufacturer’s engine reliability under the new regulations. This season marks a significant shift in power unit design, with half of the output now derived from the hybrid system’s electrical component, making energy deployment crucial to competitive performance in the 2026 campaign.
Russell dismissed any parallels with the 2014 season, when Mercedes dominated following the introduction of turbo-hybrid engines and rivals suffered widespread reliability problems. “It’s not quite how it was in 2014! The sport has evolved so much since then and the level, in every single aspect, is so high now,” he explained. He emphasised that Monday’s running demonstrated the progress made across the entire grid, with teams avoiding the breakdown-plagued sessions that characterised the previous regulatory overhaul.
As the teams gear up for the season ahead, Russell noted, “The overall standard is pretty impressive,” with most competitors managing substantial lap counts despite grappling with entirely new machinery. In a sport where every detail counts, the early signs suggest the competition will be fiercer than ever.
