George Russell Reveals Mercedes' Weakness Despite Sprint Victory in China

When Max Verstappen warned at the end of last year that Mercedes looked to be the strongest team heading into 2026, there was doubt over the Dutchman's claims.

This does seem to be the case, though. A relatively simple win for George Russell in Australia, despite an intriguing start, implied that the German team was the benchmark for other teams to better themselves from. And Russell claiming sprint pole and an eventual sprint victory only furthered this narrative.

An important note to make is that Ferrari is keeping it somewhat close, and at the time of writing, has 40 points compared to Mercedes' 55, and is second in the Constructors' Championship.

'Race pace' worries rearing their head for Mercedes, says George Russell

George Russell, Mercedes — George Russell finished P4 in the 2025 Formula One World Drivers' Championship. | Mercedes-Benz Media

Yet another rapid start for both Ferraris was negated by the fact that George Russell got away fairly quickly on pole, but it did mean that the 28-year-old was engaged in a battle with Lewis Hamilton over the opening laps.

The mid-point of the race saw Russell finally pick the pace up and lead with confidence, with a safety car on Lap 14 not adding any complications for the Mercedes number one. However, by the end of the race, Charles Leclerc was only six-tenths behind Russell when the chequered flag went down, despite Russell looking strong on the restart.

When asked how he felt following his P1 finish, Russell seemed fairly unfazed by what was a rather dramatic sprint race and happy with the result.

"It was pretty fun in the end... there was a lot of strategy at play, and how you do the overtaking is not easy. Usually, the Sprint races are pretty boring, but I got everything under control with the safety car and was happy to get the win."
Russell on sprint victory

Toto enjoyed that George Sprint win! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/8kTSEVVyaN
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 14, 2026

It could be the case that within the final few laps Russell was simply managing his car, but he also made sure to mention the Mercedes-Ferrari battle and the implication that if they do not further the gap, problems further down the road could ensue.

"[The sprint] was about managing, especially when we were battling. Lewis [Hamilton] did an amazing job in the early laps... I hope we can bring more [on raceday]—Ferrari seemed to be off in qualifying, but really close to us in race pace, so ultimately we need to find a bit of an improvement for the race."
Russell on Ferrari

Could it be that the new Ferrari rear wing—dubbed the 'macarena' —ends up making the difference on Sunday in Shanghai?