George Russell has labelled Ferrari as a “huge threat” to Mercedes hopes of clinching the 2026 Formula 1 title after Lewis Hamilton’s emotional victory at the Barcelona Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion finally took his maiden win for Ferrari last time out, beating runner-up Russell whose Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli retired from second late on.
It ended a perfect start to the year for the Silver Arrows, which won all six grands prix until then, with a raft of upgrades clearly working wonders on the SF-26 to close the gap to Mercedes.
Ferrari is now 72 points behind the German marque in the constructors’ standings, while in the drivers’ championship Hamilton is 41 off leader Antonelli and nine ahead of Russell.
“It’s great to see Lewis back doing what he does best,” said Russell ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“That’s also just an example of how challenging Formula 1 is, because the cars are so complex, the tyres are so complex, the power units are complex – everything needs to click.
“If one thing isn’t clicking, you can’t get the most out of yourself and people were writing him off last year, or even the year we were team-mates in ‘24.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
“Is he too old? Is he this? Is he that? And then he goes and he’s been smashing it for the last four or five races – it just shows that you don’t forget how to drive overnight.
“You need yourself, your team, the set-up, the understanding of the tyres, everything just to click and when it clicks, you fly.
“It’s beautiful and that’s where he is at the moment and for sure, he is a big threat. Ferrari are a huge threat.
“Kimi is still very much the driver out front and is performing really incredibly and consistently, but Ferrari feel like they’re coming and Lewis is at the forefront of that.”
Last season showed how quickly it can change, however, as upgrades from Red Bull for round 16 in Italy paved the way for a late title charge from Max Verstappen, who won six of the final nine grands prix.
So effective car development is key to success, particularly at the start of this new regulation cycle, and up to now Ferrari has been more aggressive than its rivals.
That has caught some off guard and the only area costing Ferrari at the moment is its power unit, which according to ADUO results is a level below the engines of Mercedes and Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
This will allow the Italian marque an additional upgrade compared to the championship leading manufacturer, potentially turning it into a genuine challenger considering it has the strongest chassis in F1, according to many paddock insiders.
“It’s a reality check because Ferrari have clearly had a great chassis this whole season,” added Russell.
“Their power unit has been a bit behind us, quite a bit behind us, but suddenly in Barcelona they seem to have made a step forward.
“So, they were much closer to us in terms of their straight line speed and they’re bringing a lot of upgrades, which has been quite surprising for us.
“We’ve brought one upgrade this season so far. We’ve got some in the pipeline, but Ferrari and McLaren every couple of races are bringing bits to the car.
“So we need to keep on pushing and I think every time a team is bringing a new bit to the car, they’re making big steps forward.”
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