George Russell holds a four-point advantage over Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the standings and also won a sprint race in China this season. According to major media reports, he is a strong favorite to secure his first world championship in 2026, with the Mercedes car described as the class of the field so far. All seven Sky Sports pundits have predicted Russell will become champion, with David Croft noting in a press conference that George will be the favorite but others are running close, and Anthony Davidson adding that Russell has started well with a quick car.
Russell has five career Formula One victories, having won his first race at the São Paulo Grand Prix in 2022 and adding wins in Las Vegas in 2024 and in Canada and Singapore last season. He finished fourth in the championship last season and, during his three seasons as teammates with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, outqualified Hamilton and beat him on points in the 2022 and 2024 seasons. The 2026 season features sweeping changes to Formula One regulations.
Lando Norris is the current world champion, having finished two points ahead of Max Verstappen last season. Lewis Hamilton failed to achieve a podium place last season in his first year at Ferrari. Mercedes showed strong performance in off-season testing for 2026.
The Australian Grand Prix was the opening race of the season, with the Japanese Grand Prix taking place this weekend. Pre-season predictions for the opening race in Melbourne saw only Martin Brundle and Natalie Pinkham not picking George Russell to win, according to major media reports. Brundle tipped Charles Leclerc to win, while Pinkham tipped Lando Norris.