Early Formula 1 preseason favourite George Russell said he’s ready to fight for a world championship and is relishing the chance to go head-to-head with old rival Max Verstappen.
Mercedes justified months of hype around their 2026 car and engine project with a hugely impressive start to the season in F1’s Barcelona ‘Shakedown’ week.
Russell joined Mercedes in 2022, just as its run of eight straight championships came to an end with the introduction of the ‘ground effect’ era, but the team is hoping the new regulations propel them back to the front.
Most bookmakers currently have Russell, who has five career grand prix wins to his name, and Mercedes as the favourite for the title.
Asked in a media session on Monday how he felt hearing that tag, he said: “Didn’t really feel anything from hearing that, to be honest. As I’ve said for a long time, I feel ready to fight for a world championship. And whether we have that comment above us or not, that does not change my approach one single bit.”
At the start of the Shakedown week, Russell made a point to reference how impressed he was with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team, who had a strong week in Barcelona despite embarking on a brand new engine project with Ford.
Verstappen ran eventual champion Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to the wire in 2025.
Russell and Verstappen have clashed publicly on a number of occasions — most recently when Verstappen angrily drove into Russell’s car at the end of last year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Russell is convinced any title challenge will involve having to beat Verstappen along the way.
“I’d love for it to turn out that way,” Russell said when told many bookmakers have Verstappen as second favourite for the title. “I do want to go head-to-head with Max. And obviously, Lando had a great season last year. But no, it didn’t add any more pressure [hearing about Max].
“I think probably the fans and people were expecting, you know, to potentially be Mercedes versus McLaren. Because there was a lot of anticipation that Mercedes would clearly have the best power unit. But it seems like the other power unit manufacturers have done a good job.
“And we know that Red Bull have always had an amazing car, even through the years of dominance of Mercedes. It was their engine that was letting them down, not their car. And we obviously know how good Max is.
“So, yeah, I think he’s very much going to be in the fight this year. And, you know, that is great. You obviously wish that you’d have a slightly easier time of it.
“But it should never be easy. And if you’re going to win, you want to have fought for it and won it fair and square on track.”
F1 has six more days of testing across two tests in Bahrain before the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.
