George Russell pessimistic about McLaren's race pace

While the 2025 season of Formula 1 will begin this Sunday, March 16th with the Australian Grand Prix, one team seems to clearly stand out from the rest of the field: McLaren.

« I don't think any of us (the other teams, Ed.) currently have a car that is potentially capable of beating the McLaren., George Russell declared on the BBC website. McLaren undoubtedly seems to be the strongest by far. Their race pace, in particular, is quite impressive. »

Concerning Mercedes, George Russell believes that the car The German team's 2025 season is better than last season, when the manufacturer with the star won four races (two for Russell and two for Lewis Hamilton). He approaches this new exercise with the hope of having a more complete car, capable of being competitive everywhere, rather than only on certain tracks and in certain conditions, as was the case in 2024.

« There are clearly improvements all over the car, that's undeniable, says Russell. Naturally, there are always areas for improvement. We struggled with low-speed understeer last year. There are still signs that we need to rein it in, but we believe we have some solutions to try to resolve it. The car nevertheless feels significantly more stable. »

With Lewis Hamilton's departure to FerrariGeorge Russell will have the difficult task of leading the Mercedes team this season. The 27-year-old Briton will play a leadership role alongside his young teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is only 18 years old.

« It's a page that's turning. It's a new chapter, but I don't feel any additional responsibility. ", assures Russell, however.

As for Antonelli, the King's Lynn native speaks of him as " A great guy, very young, but really nice. Super fast, of course. Being thrown in at the deep end is going to be a big challenge. But in terms of pure speed, I don't think we can question it. There's going to be an interesting new dynamic. »

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix will start at 5:00 a.m. (French time) this Sunday.

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