Sebastian Vettel Bets on George Russell to Win 2026 F1 World Championship

Amid the uncertainties of the 2026 regulations, George Russell‘s name keeps popping up. The Silver Arrow is being hailed as the people’s favorite to achieve the championship victory in the upcoming season. Now, former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel has put his money on Russell to win in the coming season as well.

The drivers’ orders on track will receive a massive overhaul, especially because of the new regulations. Many drivers believe that the regulations are overly complex and will be difficult to excel on. Regardless, George Russell has remained relevant to win the championship in the coming season. Moreover, with Mercedes reportedly being at the forefront of development, things could work out in Russell’s favor.

Sebastian Vettel did not think twice before picking George Russell as his favorite to win the championship in the 2026 season. The four-time champion explained that he considered the Silver Arrow to be very smart. He continued that Russell was a hard worker and was smart enough to understand what he had to contribute to make a difference on the track and achieve the coveted championship trophy.

I would pick George, because I consider him very intelligent, because I know how hard he works on himself, and because I think he is smart enough to understand what he personally can contribute as a driver to make the difference.

Sebastian Vettel told ServusTv.

Sebastian Vettel accepted that many drivers could shock everyone in the paddock and achieve much better results than anticipated. However, given the current situation, the German believs that Russell is definitely the one to pick for winning the championship. The Briton’s championship victory has been longcoming and he has even exampled Michael Schumacher for the delay in his title win. As such, the 2026 season could finally be the one where he achieves his maiden title victory.

There are several drivers in the field who can do that, but in the current situation my gut feeling would be that George, together with Mercedes, will succeed best this year.

Sebastian Vettel added.

George Russell reveals ‘worst race starts’ under 2026 F1 regulations

The race starts remain one of the more problematic situations under the 2026 regulations. Oscar Piastri has already claimed that the race starts are borderline unsafe. Moreover, the practice race start procedure during the pre-season testing remained disappointing for many drivers. Now, George Russell opens up on how he suffered from the worst race starts in his career under the new regulations.

George Russell pointed out that his race starts were not only the worst, but Lewis Hamilton was able to move up the grid very easily despite starting from P11 on track. As such, Russell noted that it didn’t matter how quickly a driver reacted to the lights going off. The Briton reckoned that he was still trying to get his head around what was needed to nail the race starts and achieve a good start.

The two starts I’ve made this week were worse than my worst ever start in Formula 1 and Lewis down in P11 [grid slot, P5 in order] got into P1. So at this stage, I don’t think it matters how quick you are. The thing that’s going to trip you up is going to be that tallest hurdle. That’s what we’re trying to get our heads around right now and we’re stumbling on some at the moment.

George Russell said, as reported by motorsport.com.

The 2026 season could put forth some exciting situations as teams and drivers battle to achieve the best start to the season. For now, George Russell will continue to be the people’s favorite. However, his approach to racing on track will remain unchanged despite the newfound faith of the community in him.

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