George Russell has admitted serious concern over Mercedes' poor race starts compared to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton during Bahrain's final 2026 pre-season test. The all-new car regulations present a vastly different challenge for getaways, and Russell described his own practice starts as worse than his worst ever in Formula 1.

Ferrari's power unit appears best suited to the new demand, with Hamilton executing two rapid getaways to leap from P11 to P1 in practice. While McLaren's Oscar Piastri, also on Mercedes engines, expects significant variance in early-season starts, he warned the field is struggling with a much trickier procedure than last year.

Russell remains wary of a Red Bull threat despite Mercedes' strong overall test form, noting their energy deployment still looks superior. He fears Red Bull could hit the ground running in Melbourne with only three practice hours before qualifying. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 8 will test if teams can solve their start problems.