Russell warns rivals 2026 car ‘like the Mercedes of the good old days’

George Russell has issued a warning shot to his Formula 1 rivals by claiming that his 2026 car “feels more like the Mercedes of the good old days”.

The 28-year-old Briton was in imperious form as he claimed a dominant pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to start F1’s new era with a bang for Mercedes.

Pole never looked in doubt for Russell, who edged out team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes comfortably locked out the front-row, eight tenths of a second clear of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.

"I felt good out there. It was a clean session and I'm pretty pleased with how that went. It's the first step of a long old season,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.

"The car looks amazing. The engine has been getting a lot of heat but people forget McLaren, Williams and Alpine have also got a Mercedes engine.

"The car is just mighty. It feels more like the Mercedes of the good old days. I was quite relieved when I drove it for the first time. But it’s only the start and we’ve got to keep pushing.”

Speaking later in the FIA press conference, Russell was asked if he was surprised by the huge gap to the nearest non-Mercedes car.

“Definitely,” he replied. “I think the conditions also came into our favour. We know we’re better in these cooler conditions and as the track temp dropped, we always seemed to find more lap time.

“I think we’ve got a really great engine beneath us. However, I think we’ve also got a really amazing car beneath us, and I think that probably hasn’t been highlighted enough in the press these past few weeks.

“I think the car, from the off, Kimi and I both said it felt great to drive. We’re enjoying the smaller cars, the lighter cars, and yeah, perfect way to start Melbourne.”

Mercedes has faced accusations of sandbagging from its rivals, but Russell joined team boss Toto Wolff in batting away such claims.

“I think it wasn’t a case of sandbagging. I think it was more a case of some of the other teams showing more than we would have expected in winter testing. We’ve seen this on numerous occasions in the past,” he insisted.

“Obviously, the Red Bull looks quick and we know how incredible a driver Max is as well. I’m sure Isack’s done an amazing job to be in this position.

“Who knows where Max would have been? And I think we said this from the outset, they look to be one of the biggest threats.”