George Russell Exposes “Bizarre” Concerns Over 2026 F1 Rules
George Russell shared his blunt opinion on the 'bizarre' factor about the 2026 F1 regulations which wasn't as bad as anticipated.
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The beginning of the 2026 season is right around the corner. Many teams and drivers are yet to unlock their full potential as they hope to work on development throughout the year. Amid Mercedes reportedly leading the development, George Russell has revealed the ‘bizarre’ concern for the teams under the new regulations.
George Russell has been hailed as the bookmaker’s favorite to win the championship in the 2026 season. The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and many other drivers have put forth some concerning remarks on the new regulations. Following the uncertainties, Russell has received some positive indications early on and is hoping to start the season on the right note and perform well from the get-go.
George Russell opened up on the driving feel under the new regulations. Russell reckoned that it felt like driving the car uphill, but still going flat out. A driver needed to adapt to the change and potentially downshift the car to gain extra revs going uphill. The Briton noted that this was the exact feeling when trying to harvest battery for an extra boost in power in the engine.
The way I would describe it is like if you’re driving your car up a hill, you’re still going flat out, but you’re losing a bit of speed. You may just downshift to give you a bit of extra revs to get up that hill. That’s how it sometimes feels when the engine is harvesting and you’re regenerating the battery.
George Russell said, as reported by RacingNews365.
Speaking on this change in driving style, George Russell accepted that it felt more ‘bizarre’ in the simulator than it did in real life. Russell revealed that he talked to other drivers about the same, and they had similar thoughts on the matter. As such, the 27-year-old is looking forward to driving with more intuition on-track and potentially battling for his first driver’s championship.
So there are occasions that you can downshift at the end of the straight even while you’re flat out. It felt more bizarre in the simulator than it did in reality, to be honest. I spoke with a few other drivers, and they actually commented the same. So that was quite intuitive.
Geoge Russell noted.
George Russell reveals ‘no negative surprises’ yet with development
Mercedes showed up to the private testing session in Barcelona with great results and stunned the paddock. Many people firmly believe that the 2026 season will witness a Mercedes-powered champion, with George Russell being at the forefront. Speaking on the development so far, Russell revealed that there were no negative surprises, which was certainly an exciting situation for the constructor.
George Russell claimed that it was nice not to have porpoising in the car like it did during the ground-effect era. The Briton joked that his back was doing much better now, and driving an F1 car felt less intense than it did during the previous regulations. Russell reassured that there were no negative surprises yet, which was a great factor as the team hoped to keep developing ahead of the first race in Australia.
It’s finally nice to have no porpoising, to be honest, My back is having an easier time of things. There hasn’t been anything as yet that has surprised us in a negative way.
George Russell noted.
The 2026 season will put forth exciting contingencies as all teams start afresh. Mercedes will aim to achieve a comeback in form compared to their time in the ground-effect era. The German carmaker could only pick up a handful of wins in the previous regulation. As such, the 2026 regulations will certainly be much more positive for the squad.
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