George Russell, Mercedes, Bahrain International Circuit, 2026 pre-season test

George Russell said Formula 1 should not judge its new rules too hastily after several of his rivals criticised the latest generation of cars.

While many drivers raised concerns over how F1’s new rules for 2026 have affected the handling of the cars, Max Verstappen was the most forthright critic. The Red Bull driver said the amount of energy conservation drivers have to do is “not Formula 1.”

Russell acknowledged Verstappen’s reservations about the rules changes but pointed out F1’s new power units are still at an early stage of development and have significant room for improvement.

“The concerns he raises are valid concerns,” Russell told Viaplay. “My view is it’s day four of a three-year period of development. Whenever you build something new, it’s never perfect on day one. It evolves and it develops and it’s not perfect.”

The Mercedes driver said F1’s last power unit rules change 12 years ago took time to deliver. “I like to stay open-minded,” he said. “It’s day four of driving these new cars and we’ll be doing this for three years. There’ll be a lot of progress in three years.

“If you look at the engines in 2014, many drivers complained. Then, by the end of the regulations, the engine was the strongest engine we’ve ever seen in Formula 1. So it’s a bit premature to talk too loudly, however the concerns they’re raising are arguably justifiable.”

Some drivers have expressed concerns over the difficulty of mastering their complex new pre-start procedures, and the increased risk of a crash at the start if a car moves away very slowly or slides as a result. Oscar Piastri warned the situation is a “recipe for disaster” ahead of the first race in Australia next week.

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Russell admitted the starts are “a real challenge, to be honest.”

“These cars, generally for the engineers, it’s the most complex and complicated cars that we’ve ever witnessed. We have made a lot of progress since Barcelona on the race starts itself, I don’t know about other teams, I hope come Melbourne it’ll be fine.”

However he said other aspects of the new rules, such as the reduced size and weight of the cars, are positive.

“It’s fun, to be honest. The cars being smaller and lighter is definitely nicer to drive and you see all of the drivers sliding a bit more and fighting the car more. We didn’t see this with the big cars because they were too heavy and too wide. Now it feels more like a go-kart so that’s good.”

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