George Russell believes that, while Red Bull still holds an advantage in terms of battery deployment, \u201cthe gap has closed drastically\u201d from Mercedes-powered cars.<\/p>\n
Russell had previously said Red Bull\u2019s advantage appeared \u201cpretty scary\u201d, and team principal Toto Wolff previously estimated Red Bull had up to a full second\u2019s worth of lap time<\/a> in that area, but now believes Mercedes has managed to bridge a significant portion of the gap.<\/p>\n George Russell: Mercedes to Red Bull deployment gap \u2018has closed drastically\u2019<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands paddock suggestions have widely placed Mercedes as pre-season favourites after testing concluded in Bahrain, with the Silver Arrows and Ferrari being the two teams to beat early on.<\/p>\n Red Bull, meanwhile, appears to be similar in pace to McLaren in the chasing pack, with those four teams estimated to hold a breakaway in pace compared to the rest of the field.<\/p>\n Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged as much, believing Mercedes and Ferrari to be slightly ahead of the Milton Keynes-based squad at this stage of the season.<\/p>\n On the subject of battery deployment, however, Russell still believes the Red Bull Powertrains power unit to be the current benchmark in the field.<\/p>\n However, with pre-season now complete, the Briton explained that enough testing has taken place for Mercedes to be able to catch up.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir deployment definitely still looks the best on the grid, which is kudos to them,\u201d Russell said of Red Bull to PlanetF1.com and other outlets in Bahrain.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was a bit of a surprise to everybody, so let\u2019s see come Melbourne how things shake up.<\/p>\n More analysis from F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain<\/p>\n F1 testing conclusions: Bring back V10s, fresh Aston Martin hope, secret Ferrari weapon<\/a><\/p>\n Ferrari unveils radical exhaust flap ahead of F1 2026 aero fight<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think the Mercedes-powered teams have made a lot of improvements since day one of Bahrain last week, so that gap has closed drastically.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re obviously [on] day six of Bahrain testing now, whereas in Melbourne, you\u2019ve got three hours of practice, and that\u2019s the main point of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n Energy deployment will be a significant topic of conversation when the season gets underway, with drivers needing to deploy and regenerate energy over the course of a lap to maximise lap time.<\/p>\n While racing should be easier from an aerodynamic point of view, Russell believes deployment will play its part at every race \u2013 but more so at circuits with long straights, one of which being the season opener in Melbourne.<\/p>\n Asked if following another driver is easier in this new regulatory era, the Mercedes driver replied: \u201cYou definitely can, because there\u2019s less aero on the cars, so there\u2019s less disturbance.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the big difference this year compared to the previous era is the variability in energy deployment between cars and drivers, depending on driving styles, will probably far outweigh the aero turbulence.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think we will see different racing, and I think tracks like Melbourne and Jeddah, where there are numerous long straights, I think the racing could be quite intriguing.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n