George Russell said his pre-season tag as a potential world championship favourite “does not change anything for me” ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old Brit heads into the season-opening round in Melbourne on Sunday as the bookmakers’ favourite, with Mercedes expected to hold an advantage over rivals Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.
Russell said he was unaffected by the pre-season noise during a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday.
He told reporters: “(The favourite tag) does not change anything for me.
“No matter how this weekend goes, it is a 24-race season, it is very demanding on everybody.
“And a lot can change between now and Abu Dhabi.”
He credited his team for the raised expectations heading into 2026.
“The morale is definitely different, but this is more to do with the fact the car is performing as expected,” he said.
“The correlation is good, there are no major scares. The engine looks strong, the package looks good, so that is why morale is high.
“The lap times looked decent as well in the first two tests, but the rate of improvement is going to be at its steepest for the next six months.”
Russell added: “There is an element of the unknown and excitement going into the first race.
“It has been a better pre-season than the last four years. Regardless of the stop watch, things are working out as we hope.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton said he “lost sight of who I was” in 2025 as he heads into his 20th season in Formula One.
The 41-year-old is the most decorated driver in F1 history, but he will head into Sunday’s curtain-raiser with a point to prove after a poor first season at Ferrari.
Hamilton was out-qualified and out-scored by team-mate Charles Leclerc and ended the campaign without a single podium for the first time in his career.
“You won’t see that again,” Hamilton said in Melbourne.
“It is massively different to the first year, and a much nicer feeling coming (here) understanding the team, the culture. Much happier.
“An amazing amount of work has been done with the team back at the factory, and I think we are just sharp, sharp and prepared.”
On his physical conditioning, Hamilton said: “I don’t feel this is my 20th year, I feel very fresh.
“It is all in the mind, and physically I feel great. The break was really positive.
“I always talk about cultivating a positive mental attitude and that is what I have been doing.”
