{"id":38736,"date":"2026-01-26T15:13:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T20:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=38736"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:20:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T20:20:41","slug":"george-russell-impressed-by-performance-of-red-bull-engine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/01\/26\/george-russell-impressed-by-performance-of-red-bull-engine\/","title":{"rendered":"George Russell “impressed” by performance of Red Bull engine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes have attracted the most attention in the build-up to this week’s Barcelona shakedown. The 2026 Mercedes engine<\/a> has been at the centre of most conversations in F1 circles over recent weeks.<\/p>\n

By drivers and news outlets alike, the German power unit is expected to set the standard. The team’s impressive 67-lap programme at their Silverstone filming day (far exceeding the mileage of any other team) further solidified this belief.<\/p>\n

Of course, making accurate conclusions in pre-season is always difficult. Then again, this does not prevent narratives from forming. George Russell is no doubt aware of this – as he downplays suggestions that Mercedes are in a dominant position<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mercedes W17, Barcelona Test, Steve Etherington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

George Russell gives first impressions of W17 in Barcelona<\/h2>\n

The 2026 regulations will push teams to the limit of performance and reliability. At least, this was the general expectation heading into this year’s campaign.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, reliability is still expected to become a far bigger issue than it has in previous years. Mechanical, hydraulic, electric and power-unit issues will give engineers across the paddock plenty of headaches.<\/p>\n

With that said, Mercedes<\/a> started their week in Barcelona by completing 95 laps without any problems. Both in today’s running and their Silverstone filming day, Toto Wolff’s team have affirmed the consensus about the reliability of their power units.<\/p>\n

Speaking after his first run in the W17, Russell was complimentary of this new generation of cars:<\/p>\n

“It was amazing just to be back out, driving again. I think at the end of the year, everyone is sort of looking forward to a break. But then after a week or two, you’re sort of raring to go again.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Obviously there was a lot of anticipation for these new power units. Generally, on the whole, the amount of power they give is pretty impressive.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I think for all the cars I was watching today, for all the power units, probably the quickest I’ve ever seen a car pass here in Barcelona. So that was pretty exciting to see, and the cars do generally feel – like you feel it being smaller.<\/em><\/p>\n

“You can feel that weight reduction compared to previous years. So I think from that aspect as well, it’s gone in a good direction.<\/em><\/p>\n

There has been extensive debate about whether the 2026 regulations will facilitate better racing. Such trepidations are inevitably when such a comprehensive set of changes are being implemented.<\/p>\n

Despite these concerns, Russell insists 2026 could be an opportunity for better racing.<\/p>\n

“It is very different to be honest, but once you wrap your head around it, it feels quite intuitive, to be honest. So I think from the fan’s perspective, there is definitely an opportunity to see more exciting.<\/em><\/p>\n

“And I don’t think you potentially will see some of the negatives we may feel from the car, in terms of the recharge. Of course, that’s going to evolve so much over time… (cont. on next page.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Mercedes W17, Barcelona Test, Steve Etherington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

“So I think all in all, it’s been an exciting day. As I said, really glad and happy the cars and smaller,”<\/em> Russell continued.<\/p>\n

“Because even though I was such a fan we went to the big cars in 2017, visually, having driven them now for a few years –\u00a0 I think they were too big.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Russell praises rival manufacturers<\/h4>\n

Inevitably, Russell was questioned about his confidence in the new Mercedes engine. In fairness to the Silver Arrows, they have tried to go under the radar since last season’s conclusion.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for them, this has done little to prevent an intense wave of hype surrounding their power unit. Their track record (namely when they took the grid by storm in 2014) played its part in creating this prevailing belief.<\/p>\n

Still, there is more to the noise that relentlessly follows Mercedes. In terms of experience and infrastructure, they are better placed than any other manufacturer to capitalise on these new engines.<\/p>\n

Other debuting manufacturers, like Audi<\/a> and Red Bull, face a steeper learning curve than the German squad. Even established suppliers like Honda (who only committed to the 2026 regulations in 2023) have experienced hiccups.<\/p>\n

Of course, George Russell had no interest in playing into this narrative.<\/p>\n

When asked about his confidence in Mercedes power, he immediately pivoted to praising other manufacturers – starting with Red Bull:<\/p>\n

“For sure, we’re very pleased with the day. But I was pretty impressed with a number of other teams, to be honest.<\/em><\/p>\n

“You see the Red Bull-powered teams, a brand new power unit, they’re like a brand new team from the power unit side. And they’ve had a really smooth day with two cars.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Audi had some good laps in there as well, Haas did the most laps of everyone with a Ferrari engine. So it’s not quite 2014 vibes of half the grid breaking down and having loads of issues.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I think Formula 1 has evolved so much since then, and the level is just so high from every single aspect. I was really impressed to see all the teams, on the whole, having a lot of laps on the belt from day one.”<\/em><\/p>\n

To some degree, Russell’s comments can be taken at face value. Red Bull<\/a> Powertrains can indeed be satisfied with their Barcelona running, which went smoothly for the RB22.<\/p>\n

The only hiccup for the Red Bull-powered cars was a midday stoppage for Liam Lawson. Crucially, the Kiwi has confirmed the issue which forced his VCARB 03 to a halt was not engine-related.<\/p>\n

Ferrari power also enjoyed an efficient day of running, with Haas<\/a> completing more laps than anyone else. Additionally, Russell is correct in his assessment that the grid is far more competitive than it was in 2024.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the 27-year-old’s flattery (for now) won’t be enough to convince analysts that Mercedes aren’t the team to watch.<\/p>\n

Main photo: Steve Etherington (Mercedes F1 Media Archive)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mercedes have attracted the most attention in the build-up to this week’s Barcelona shakedown. The 2026 Mercedes engine has been at the centre of most conversations in F1 circles over recent weeks. By drivers and news outlets alike, the German power unit is expected to set the standard. The team’s impressive 67-lap programme at their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":38737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2582,121,78,2411],"class_list":["post-38736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2026-season","tag-mercedes","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-russell"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38736"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38743,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38736\/revisions\/38743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}