George Russell has weighed in on the balance of power in Formula 1 2026. The Mercedes driver believes the team to beat for the rest of the season is no longer his own, but McLaren.
Mercedes have been dominant since pre-season testing. However, Russell believes George Russell and his team are starting to lose that edge. Now, the reigning champions, McLaren, have become the biggest threat after impressing in the last two races.
McLaren had a poor start to the season, with two DNS in China and a significant performance deficit. But after bringing major upgrades in Hungary and the Netherlands, the Woking-based squad have secured back-to-back victories through Lando Norris.
Russell praised Norris's ability on high-degradation circuits, saying that such conditions suit McLaren very well. "I believe high-degradation circuits really suit McLaren very well, especially Lando. He's always been a bit of a specialist in those conditions. We also saw it last year," he said.
Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Russell is optimistic Mercedes will be more competitive. However, he also warned about Ferrari's potential engine upgrade. "I think we will be slightly more competitive there. But I believe Ferrari have an engine upgrade incoming, and the truth is we just don't know," he explained.
Despite that, Russell is certain McLaren are the team to beat for the rest of the season. "Monza may be slightly different, but I think they are the team to beat right now," he concluded.
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