Russell confident Mercedes will have the best F1 2026 engine

Formula 1 will undergo a major overhaul next year with new engine and chassis regulations. It’s a leap into the unknown for all teams and manufacturers, although some teams including Red Bull have suggested that Mercedes appears “very confident” about its engine project.

That belief was based on paddock chatter – reliable or not – and the fact that Mercedes opposed some further interventions from the FIA. The federation recently admitted in an interview with this website that not all manufacturers are equally keen to share data about their 2026 power units.

During a special session with Dutch media in Zandvoort, George Russell shared his first impression of the new Mercedes power unit for 2026. The Briton – who formally has no contract for next season, but said he wasn’t worried about talks taking longer – expressed strong confidence in the Mercedes HPP project, when asked about it by Autosport.

“I’m definitely very confident in the power unit side. I think, on average, over these last 10 years or probably even longer, I can’t remember when Mercedes didn’t have the best power unit in F1. Okay, maybe except for 2019, but obviously there were some other reasons for that!” he laughed, alluding to Ferrari and the settlement it reached with the FIA over its then-controversial engine.

“But even before the regulation change, even in the V8 era, I think the Mercedes engine was probably the most competitive one of the field as well. So, I’m definitely very confident in the organisation in Brixworth.”

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the factory team will be the dominant force in 2026. “Of course, for us as Mercedes F1, we recognise that McLaren will have that same engine, Alpine will be having that engine, and even Williams are looking stronger this year. So, just because we’re confident that we’ll have a strong power unit and good fuel with Petronas, that doesn’t mean we’re the team to beat.”

According to Russell, sustainable fuels are an under-discussed factor – but potentially a major performance differentiator in 2026. “We’ve never spoken about fuel performance before, but this is really a huge aspect going into next year with everything going sustainable,” he insisted

Above all, Russell remains vigilant about other teams running Mercedes power in 2026: “You can’t just relax, because there’s a lot of people on the grid who also have your engine. We’ve got to stay on our toes, and at the end of the day, the reason we’ve not won championships in these last four years has not been because of the engine. We’re very much aware of that.”

Mercedes’ “very minimal” factory edge over McLaren

However, integrating the power unit into the chassis could also be a differentiator. In 2025, with stable rules over several seasons, McLaren has been able to fully optimise its package around the Mercedes engine, but with new regulations, that might be a bit more challenging at the start.

The factory team might have a small edge, as the engine and chassis are developed simultaneously, with constant communication between all departments to produce the best possible package. For customer teams such as McLaren, the integration is more dependent on what Mercedes High Performance Powertrains supplies.

It’s a factor to consider, though Russell doesn’t believe it will be decisive. “For sure, that is always going to be a small advantage for the factory team, but I think that advantage is very minimal to be honest,” the Mercedes driver said.

“I think the majority of the performance comes from aerodynamics, and it comes from the cooling of the tyres. We’ve seen a huge amount of performance from McLaren in those areas this year, so I don’t think that… The sort of integration, more logistically, is probably slightly more inconvenient for other teams than it is for a factory team, but it’s not going to hold them back much.”