Russell Backs Mercedes Upgrades: "A Step in the Right Direction"

George Russell remains optimistic about Mercedes’ 2025 season, citing long-planned upgrades as key to the team’s resurgence in F1.

George Russell justified his optimism for 2025 by pointing to the fact that his team, Mercedes F1, was “itself optimistic” about the impact of the changes made to its 2025 car—modifications that had “been in the pipeline for a long time.”

After securing eight consecutive constructors’ titles, Mercedes struggled with the introduction of new regulations in 2022, winning just one race that year and failing to secure a victory in 2023.

The Silver Arrows made some progress in 2024, with Russell and his then-teammate Lewis Hamilton—who has since moved to Ferrari—each claiming two wins. However, the inconsistency of the W15 meant they finished nearly 200 points behind McLaren, placing fourth in the constructors’ standings.

“There have been a lot of… I wouldn’t say direct changes between last year and this year, but rather things that have been in the works for a long time—elements we couldn’t really implement on the car in 2024 but have been working on for a while,” said Russell.

“If I’ve shown some optimism, it’s because the team itself is optimistic,” he responded when asked whether it was appropriate for him to speak about the title in 2025.

“We are optimistic—it will be a good step in the right direction. Of course, you never know what our rivals will do. Throughout this year, with 2026 in mind, it will be quite intriguing to see whether teams continue to develop their cars aggressively or not.”