According to the bookmakers, George Russell is the frontrunner to be crowned world champion in 2026. During the shakedown in Barcelona, Mercedes looked to confirm it has built an extremely competitive car for the new season. Without any notable problems, the team put in countless kilometres on the Spanish tarmac. Team principal Toto Wolff now wants to give Russell – who has mostly played a supporting role in recent title fights – a spot in the spotlight.
Since George Russell moved to Mercedes in 2022, the Brit has taken five victories and seven pole positions. Yet he has never seriously been in contention for the world championship. Max Verstappen has been the dominant force in Formula 1 in recent years and was last season displaced by reigning world champion Lando Norris. Russell ultimately finished fourth in the championship. Wolff is aware that his driver has been anointed favourite by the bookmakers this year; a role which, according to the Austrian, he more than deserves.
Resultaten afwachten
“It’s always nice when your driver is viewed as the favourite by the bookmakers,” Wolff said on Monday during the season launch of Mercedes. “I also think George deserves that status, because he is simply one of the best. He knows how to extract the absolute maximum from the car and has been invaluable to the team.”
Still, Wolff is keeping a careful distance. “In the end the best driver in the best car wins, and we have not yet proven our package is good enough to fight for the title. Of course I hope the bookmakers are right, but I’ll only believe it when the results back it up.”
