George Russell claims “95% of the workforce” at Mercedes is already focused on 2026

The 2025 Formula 1 campaign might just have etched past his midway point, but George Russell has hinted that the Mercedes team is already planning for the remainder of the season. The 27-year-old has claimed that 95% of the workforce of the Brackley-based outfit has switched its focus towards the 2026 car.

Russell, who spoke in an interview with Motorsports.com, touched on what appeared to be a developmental misstep on the team’s 2025 car. The Mercedes outfit, which had become synonymous, particularly since the shift to the ground effect rules, with its performance in wet weather conditions, has found performance a little difficult to come by in recent wet races.

The former Williams Racing driver, however, detailed that despite this technical misstep the team is currently enduring, it is expected to have little bearing on the 2026 campaign.

"The recent lack of performance is not ideal, but actually the truth is 95% of the workforce is already on 2026. So, that group of people is not in the sort of emotional cycle that you would ordinarily be in."

Despite the Mercedes team's inconsistency through the 2025 campaign, George Russell, on his part, appears to have found a way to extract performance from the W16 challenger. The British driver has racked up six podium finishes from the 14 races held so far through the season.

George Russell speaks on Mercedes adapting to life after Lewis Hamilton

George Russell also reflected on life at the Mercedes outfit following the departure of Lewis Hamilton. The 27-year-old was teammate to the seven-time world champion for three seasons before his switch to the Scuderia Ferrari outfit at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Russell detailed how different life at the Brackley-based outfit feels without Hamilton, but stressed how the change was a good one for all parties involved.

"For sure, it's a different feeling within the team. But ultimately, you only look towards one thing, which is the performance. We obviously started really well. Now we've had a run of bad form. I hope we can get that back on track, but there are always pros and cons to every change that you make in any organization.

"But I think the change was with Lewis. It's good for him. It's really good for us as a team; a fresh start. Sometimes you need to break that mould to find yourself back on track."

Lewis Hamilton had spent 12 years with the Mercedes team before completing a switch to Ferrari. During his three years as teammates with George Russell, he finished twice behind the 27-year-old on the drivers’ championship, in 2022 and 2024. The Mercedes team for its part, replaced Hamilton with young Italian driver, Kimi Antonelli.