George Russell has downplayed the continuing speculation that Mercedes will go into next year’s Formula 1 season with a performance advantage over the team’s rivals.
The German marque’s powertrains department has been at the forefront of longstanding rumours that it has developed the best package ahead of the new regulations for 2026.
OEMs have been scrambling to produce brand new V6 hybrids that will see an equal split between combustion and electric power, a cornerstone of the radical new F1 rulebook.
This has naturally left the current all-conquering McLaren squad, a Mercedes customer, and the Brackley-based works squad as early favourites for supremacy next year.
Naturally, this leaves Russell high on the list of potential World Champions for next year, and whilst convinced a good job has been done, the Brit is not resting on those laurels.
“I’m definitely very confident in the power unit side,” Russell addressed.
“I think, on average, over these last 10 years or probably even longer, I can’t remember when Mercedes didn’t have the best power unit in F1.
“OK, maybe except for 2019, but obviously there were some other reasons for that!” he quipped, in reference to Ferrari’s controversial 2019 engine.
“But even before the regulation change, even in the V8 era, I think the Mercedes engine was probably the most competitive one of the field as well.
“So, I’m definitely very confident in the organisation in Brixworth.”
Russell warns not to discount Mercedes customer teams
As previously mentioned, McLaren is making the most of the current Mercedes package in its MCL39 car, which has won all but four rounds of the championship this year.
The works team has not been entirely at its best this year due to other aerodynamic and technical factors with its W16 challenger, but other customers have shown promise.
Williams, with the help of a Mercedes power unit, has managed to score more points so far this season than it has in the last three seasons put together.
Aston Martin will swap Mercedes power next year in favour of Honda’s return, but in comes Alpine as the German manufacturer’s third customer team.
The Anglo-French marque is ditching Renault power, and therefore works status, to become a user of Mercedes engines next year, leaving the Enstone-based squad in a positive position.
Russell indicated that all these teams could pose a threat as F1 takes a serious step into the unknown in 2026.
“Of course, for us as Mercedes F1, we recognise that McLaren will have that same engine, Alpine will be having that engine, and even Williams are looking stronger this year,” he acknowledged.
“So, just because we’re confident that we’ll have a strong power unit and good fuel with Petronas, that doesn’t mean we’re the team to beat.”
Russell added: “You can’t just relax, because there’s a lot of people on the grid who also have your engine.
“We’ve got to stay on our toes, and at the end of the day, the reason we’ve not won championships in these last four years has not been because of the engine. We’re very much aware of that.”
One key aspect of McLaren’s dominance this year has been the MCL39’s design, which has given it a significant performance advantage over every team at most races.
This is a key reason why Russell refuses to be content with any notion that the works team could be outright favourites for next year.
“For sure, that is always going to be a small advantage for the factory team, but I think that advantage is very minimal to be honest,” he said.
“I think the majority of the performance comes from aerodynamics, and it comes from the cooling of the tyres.
“We’ve seen a huge amount of performance from McLaren in those areas this year.
“The sort of integration, more logistically, is probably slightly more inconvenient for other teams than it is for a factory team, but it’s not going to hold them back much.”
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