McLaren so fast it can already focus on 2026 F1 car – Russell

Mercedes driver feels McLaren cannot be caught over the 2025 Formula 1 season after an impressive display in Australian Grand Prix qualifying

Mercedes' George Russell believes McLaren is so dominant it can already turn off development of its current Formula 1 car and move on to 2026.

McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, with Norris putting nearly four tenths on the team's nearest chaser Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

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As teams aim to find a balance between developing their current car further and focusing on the all-encompassing rule changes for 2026, fourth-fastest Russell believes McLaren has a gap that cannot be overcome, so it can already safely switch all its efforts to next year's project and leave its current MCL39 as it is.

"They're in such an advantage, because they can stop development now and go fully on '26 and it's difficult to overcome that gap," Russell said. "Red Bull started the [2024] season so far ahead of everyone, but I don't think people overtook them in terms of development. I think they brought some things to the car and went backwards. If you've got a six-tenth advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six tenths throughout the year. So, McLaren is in prime position for now and the future."

Russell is convinced McLaren has unlocked ways to keep tyre wear under control, which would have stood it in good stead in tomorrow's race if it hadn't been for the fact that all forecasts point to a wet-weather race.

"Tomorrow is anybody's game, as it always is in the rain, but if it was dry, I expect that gap from McLaren to probably increase in race pace," he explained. "It's all tyres. If you're strong in sector three, that only points to tyres, so they're doing something pretty special, that's for sure. We always hoped that it could be closer, but that was the reality and fair play to them."

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Behind McLaren, Russell feels the race for second can be "anyone's game" this year, with the Mercedes driver and Verstappen closely matched on the second row while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went backwards to qualify on row four.