Jenson Button delivers verdict on George Russell's F1 title chances, warns of mental challenge

Jenson Button believes George Russell has the speed, intelligence and mentality to handle a 2026 Formula 1 title fight as Mercedes emerges as a frontrunner

2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has backed George Russell to be able to mentally deal with the pressure of the 2026 drivers' championship fight as the Mercedes driver heads into the season as a favourite.

"From the outside, yes," Button told Sky Sports F1, when asked if Russell has everything he needs to win the 2026 drivers' championship. "But he's not been in that position to fight for it. So we don't really know how he's going to deal with it.

"I would say he's going to deal with it very well. But I thought I would, and I didn't," he laughed. "It's always a tricky thing when you have that much pressure, and you put that much pressure on yourself to succeed, things change mentally. It's a mental game from then on. Because you're right, he has everything that he needs. He's very, very fast, very intelligent, and he's got a great team."

Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins added: "There is expectation, but this is what George and so many drivers, this is what they've been waiting for. This is what he's done all his junior career to get to this moment.

"Through his time in Mercedes, he hoped that this opportunity would come. And we saw it through last year in the paddock. Although the car wasn't the strongest car out there at many times, his confidence has grown. He's grown into that leadership position within the team."

Russell has earned the nicknames of 'Mr Consistency' and 'Mr Saturday' over the last couple of years, after managing to consistently deliver and avoid race retirements.

World Champion Jenson Button

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

"That was from his first race in F1," Button added. "It's not something that he's just learned over the years. Obviously, he's grown into the sport, but he's seemed calm and confident from the word go.

"We probably expected him to have won more races by now, from when he jumped into the Mercedes, but obviously that was when they were on sort of the slope of performance. But it's really good to see that he's still in that team when they are performing as they look like they're performing in '26."

Russell topped the timesheets in FP3, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, with a time of 1m19.053s, 0.616 seconds quicker than his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who had the second fastest time.