F1 star George Russell shocked by what Red Bull did in testing

Credit for photo: IMAGO x Red Bull Content Pool x GPFANS — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

George Russell shocked by what Red Bull did in F1 testing

Red Bull surprised everyone in Barcelona

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 4 February 2026 19:55

Mercedes F1 star George Russell has admitted his surprise over rivals Red Bull and what they achieved at the Barcelona shakedown.

The Brackley-based outfit emerged from Barcelona with the most mileage (500 laps) and the most hype, earning them the tentative title of the team to beat in 2026.

But, Mercedes don't believe they will experience a period of dominance akin to 2014, and have credited their rivals Red Bull for a successful first shakedown in Barcelona.

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Red Bull managed to accumulate 303 laps across their three days of testing, particularly impressive given 2026 is their first year producing their own power units.

Far from an inexperienced operation, however, Red Bull's engine project is led by Ben Hodgkinson, who was poached from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains. Hodgkinson boasts two decades worth of experience at Brixworth, and assumed a senior role during Mercedes' period of engine dominance.

Former team principal Christian Horner claimed that over 200 people also made the switch from Mercedes to their engine project — a hyperbolic statement perhaps, during his war of words with Toto Wolff in 2024 — but nonetheless Red Bull Powertrains is not a novice operation.

Russell impressed by Red Bull's power unit

Now, years worth of work and investment will finally bear fruition, and so far, Red Bull's rivals are impressed, including George Russell.

Speaking at Mercedes' formal car launch of the W17 on Monday, he said: "Obviously we've only driven the car for three days and it's still very early days but, quoting Toto [Wolff], it doesn't look like it's a turd, which is a bonus.

"To be honest, in the early days like this, you know when it could be a really bad car and you can highlight those negatives early on. We don't believe it is but is it a car that can produce a world championship?

"It's still way too early to see and we've been quite surprised by what we've seen from some of our rivals, especially on the Red Bull power unit side, that looks very impressive considering they're a completely new outfit and reliable as well, so kudos to them.

"We've had a very reliable test but we'll have to wait and see if the car lives up to the expectation."

F1 Red Bull Mercedes George Russell pre-season testing Barcelona