With the debate among Formula 1 drivers intensifying regarding the 2026 regulations the sport debuted, George Russell is of the opinion that they should be given a chance.
The 2026 F1 rules have some aspects, such as the smaller cars and the better noise from the power unit since there is no more MGU-H, but those units themselves with their 50-50 power split between internal combustion and electricity are also an issue.
That is due to the way drivers have to manage the power unit’s battery pack, which means they cannot push all the time, an aspect Max Verstappen hates.
However, with two tests in Barcelona and Bahrain now behind us, Russell is adopting a different approach, he said of the new rules:Â “I do think it’s a step forward, and I always like to give things a chance.Progress will be massive
“We’re four days into a set of regulations that’s going to be over three years long, and the progress everyone’s going to make in these early months is going to be massive.
“The cars are way nicer to drive,” he said of the cars’ dynamics. “I’ve only ever driven the smaller generation of F1 cars twice, and I couldn’t believe the difference of how much more agile the car feels being lighter, smaller. So, that’s very positive.
“The engines are very complicated, and to be honest,” the Briton admitted. “It’s probably causing more of a pain for all of the engineers than it is for the drivers.
“However, these two tracks, Barcelona and Bahrain, are arguably two of the easiest circuits for the engine. So, I don’t want to say anything too early before we get to the likes of Melbourne or Jeddah, because it will be much more challenging for the engines and the energy once we get there.”
There is a challenge though
With the new power units losing grunt at the end of the straights and with turbo lag more noticeable, drivers are having to tackle corners in lower gears than they are used to.
Russell admitted this aspect is not so nice; he commented:Â “The one challenge that we’re faced with is using very low gears in the corners.
“Here in Bahrain, usually the first corner is a third-gear corner. Now we’re having to use first gear to keep the engine revs very high to keep the turbo spinning. Sometimes it feels like a bit of a handbrake when you’re having to go down the gears.
“This is probably the one thing that is quite annoying and isn’t that intuitive. But for the rest, you can’t argue with the amount of power you have when you get the full 350kW.
“But I also think it’s going to progress a huge amount in the coming months, so we’ve got to give it time,” the Mercedes driver concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)