George Russell joked that he is awaiting an inquisition from former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton about the alleged legality of its Formula 1 power unit.
The Brit took the opening race of 2026 in Australia, leading home a Silver Arrows 1-2 ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as Hamilton and Ferrari’s challenge faded.
A botched pit stop strategy amid a Virtual Safety Car undid the Scuderia’s chances, with Hamilton fourth, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc at the chequered flag.
The dominance of Mercedes, underlined further by its front row lock-out in qualifying, appeared to be an early vindication of its pre-season ‘favourites’ tag.
Much of its status as the ones to beat has stemmed from its controversial power unit and compression ratio, which has forced the FIA into a mid-season regulation change.
Hamilton voiced his suspicions of the Brackley-based squad’s PU after qualifying, saying the season could be “done” if it makes the most of the time its supposed advantage carries.
Speaking after his race, Russell revealed that he would be flying to Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix with Hamilton, and joked that he was prepared for the myriad of comments from the seven-time World Champion about the contentious PU.
“I’m flying with Lewis, so I’m sure I’m going to hear about, ‘Your engine’s so good, your compression ratio is illegal,’ this and that,” he said.
“So yeah, I think I’ll just try to get to sleep quite early.”
Russell added, with a laugh: “I’ll just say ‘shut up and focus on your own stuff’.”
With the Shanghai International Circuit around 0.2 kilometres longer, and boasting the 1.170km back straight, energy management will be perhaps more crucial than it was in Australia.
Another lightning fast start – as well as a better executed strategy – will be crucial to Ferrari’s chances of leapfrogging Mercedes for good this time.
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