As Mercedes finalise their work on the W16 before Bahrain testing, George Russell says the team is optimistic about their progress. The British driver anticipates a more competitive Mercedes in 2025 – with notable changes from last season.
Should the Silver Arrows produce a car that can fight for the Championship, Russell is confident they will capitalise.
George Russell outlines Mercedes expectations for 2025
In some ways, last season was the most successful for Mercedes with the current generation of F1 cars.
Although they finished the year in 4th (their worst Championship position since 2012), they secured four race wins – their highest number since 2021.
Russell and Hamilton both claimed the top step of the podium on two occasions, with the Silver Arrows often fighting at the very front.
The team’s biggest limitation, not for the first time, was a vulnerability to huge swings in performance.
An extremely small operating window saw Mercedes go from dominant results (like their 1-2 in Las Vegas) to underwhelming weekends as the slowest of the top four teams.
One of their aims for 2025 is to establish a more consistent foundation and address their underlying issues.
Russell: We are going in the right direction
Speaking with Sky Sports, George Russell explained the team’s development progress:
“There have been a lot of – I wouldn’t say changes directly from last year to this year – these are things that have been in the pipeline for a long time.
“Items we couldn’t quite put on the car in 2024, but we’ve been working on them for a long time.
“We’re optimistic it will be a good step in the right direction,” underlined the Mercedes driver.
The 2025 season is a huge test for George Russell, who is tasked with leading the team in Lewis Hamilton’s absence.
Rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli, entering F1 after skipping Formula 3 and completing a single Formula 2 campaign, is highly rated within the team.
Toto Wolff opted to fast-track the 18-year-old into Mercedes, with Antonelli completing extensive testing over the last year.
For all the excitement surrounding the youngster, Russell will be expected to establish himself as the lead driver.
Should Antonelli get close to Russell’s, this would not necessarily warrant criticism for the 26-year-old – but instead validate the hype that has followed Antonelli since karting days.
A big year for Mercedes
Still, the Briton obviously won’t want someone almost a decade his junior to become the reference.
Following a series of campaigns with Lewis Hamilton as a teammate, the 3-time race winner is confident in his abilities.
Russell believes that with the right machinery, he is ready to deliver for Mercedes:
“You obviously never know what your rivals have done. Throughout this year, with a thought on 2026 – whether teams continue developing or not – that’s going to be intriguing.
“I feel ready, everybody at the team is so motivated. I feel that these years – you know – it’s sort of been trial and error.
“But every time we’ve had a chance to win, we’ve won.
“And that’s what gives me the optimism that if we do have the car, we can achieve it.”
