Mercedes-AMG Formula One driver George Russell spoke highly of his W17 F1 car after securing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. Russell highlighted that rival teams with the same power unit were unable to match his performance, hinting that Mercedes might have unlocked the secret to top performance.
Mercedes secured a front-row lockout for the season opener, showcasing a dominant performance as both drivers, Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, were the only ones to deliver lap times in the 1:18 range, while the rest of the grid remained above 1:19.
Mercedes customer teams McLaren, Alpine, and Williams were nowhere close to matching the W17’s performance, which suggests that Mercedes got the entire package right for the new generation cars, and that performance is not solely dependent on the power unit, a point made by Russell in the post-qualifying interview with Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle. He said:
“I felt good out there. It was a clean session and I’m pretty pleased with how that went. It’s the first step of a long old season.
“The car looks amazing. The engine has been getting a lot of heat but people forget McLaren, Williams and Alpine have also got a Mercedes engine.”
The W17 reminded Russell of a dominant Mercedes F1 car from the past when he drove it for the first time. He added:
“The car is just mighty. It feels more like the Mercedes of the good, old days. I was quite relieved when I drove it for the first time.”
The 2026 cars are powered equally by electric energy and internal combustion, meaning drivers will also have to formulate strategies to keep the batteries charged, apart from the usual race strategies that come into play during Grands Prix.
Brundle explained that the new cars are more difficult to drive since drivers have a lot more to manage and look after. Praising Russell’s approach to the new season, he said:
“The cars look really hard to drive generally. I enjoyed it and I liked the cars moving around.
“They got really comfortable with cars that were glued to the track, and would forgive them some errors. These cars don’t forgive them some errors.
“George said ‘this is the new normal’ and I think he’s come at it with entirely the right mental approach.”
