George Russell: Mercedes’ 2026 engine isn’t crushing rivals like 2014

George Russell does not believe Mercedes holds the same “major advantage” it did in the last power unit regulation change, back in 2014, with Ferrari and Red Bull’s engines “very close” to the team’s threshold.

Mercedes started the season in fine form with a 1-2 finish in Australia, setting the early benchmark in Formula 1’s new era as others look to close in.

George Russell says Mercedes does not have 2014-style engine advantage

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While predictions were rife in the build-up to this new ruleset that Mercedes, and its staff at its High Performance Powertrains division, would produce the standout power unit of this generation – mirroring its previous success – Russell thinks its rivals stack up closely to what is powering the W17.

Ferrari also has its own long history of success with its factory and customer power unit supply in Formula 1, while Red Bull Powertrains and Audi began developing their power units several years ago, to prepare for this new regulation cycle.

It is a first foray into power unit making for RBPT in particular, whose recruitment drive included engineers from Mercedes and hired Brixworth stalwart, Ben Hodgkinson, as its first technical director.

With its rivals producing what he believes to be similarly-powered engines, then, Russell believes more credit should be given to the chassis of the W17 for the team’s flying start.

As a result, he does not believe this season and the last regulation change are similar – not least because of Mercedes’ customers competing on an equal footing.

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“Well, I think it’s not comparable to 2014 because, in 2014, Mercedes had a major advantage on the power unit compared to every other manufacturer, and there wasn’t a team with a Mercedes engine that could compete,” he explained.

“Now, the winner of the championship the last two years has been a car with the Mercedes [power unit] in the back of it.

“So, you know McLaren are capable of fighting against us, and Ferrari and Red Bull have seemingly produced a power unit that is very close to what we have. So, at the moment, the differences look to be coming from the car.

“I think we have produced a really good car this year. There’s lots of talk around the engine, and of course, the engine is great, but the car is fantastic as well, and that isn’t being given the credit it deserves.

“I’m sure it will close up quick. Max [Verstappen] wasn’t in the fight last week, and his teammate [Isack Hadjar] qualified third, so you could have expected him to have been in the fight with a usual Saturday.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher

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