RacingMercedes has put George Russell and Kimi Antonelli on the front row four times already in 2026, but neither driver has led after lap one. That is the problem Russell says the team is attacking before Formula 1 returns in Miami.
Speaking to Sky Germany at a Pirelli tyre test at the Nürburgring, the Mercedes driver said race starts are still the team’s weakest area despite a rapid start to the season. Mercedes has won the first three Grands Prix and the China sprint, yet Russell said the lost ground off the line keeps showing up.
“There is a huge amount going on behind the scenes,” Russell, Mercedes driver, told Sky Germany at the Nürburgring tyre test. “As in any sport, there is a lot that goes on that people don't see and we have this opportunity to be testing.”
Russell said Mercedes is using the break to work through the issue before the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May. Formula 1 has been off for five weeks, and according to Russell, much of the effort has gone into simulator work and race analysis rather than track running.
“We have lots of days on the simulator analysing the first three races and looking ahead to the next couple that are coming up,” Russell, Mercedes driver, told Sky Germany at the Nürburgring tyre test. “It is two sprint races when we come back with Miami and Montreal so it is full gas.”
The problem is that starts are hard to fix under F1’s testing rules. Russell said the Nürburgring running could not be used for launch practice because it was a tyre test for Pirelli, not a normal test session.
“We are here because it is a Pirelli test and a tyre test, we are not allowed to do any starts, that is the same for any team when they do tyre testing,” Russell, Mercedes driver, told Sky Germany at the Nürburgring tyre test. “Our sport is difficult because you don't get to practice that much. It is part of the rules that you are not allowed to drive.”
That leaves teams with very few chances to rehearse one of the most important parts of a race weekend. Russell said drivers can only really practice starts at the end of free practice sessions during a Grand Prix weekend, and he described that lack of repetition as damaging.
Still, he said Mercedes believes it has a better read on what has been going wrong.
“Of course, we would love to be out doing loads and loads of starts,” Russell, Mercedes driver, told Sky Germany at the Nürburgring tyre test. “We have some ideas of why we have been falling short of the race starts so hopefully we can build on that.”
The issue matters straight away when the season resumes. Antonelli’s back-to-back wins have moved the Mercedes rookie into a nine-point lead over Russell in the drivers’ standings after three races. For a team that has already shown front-row pace almost every weekend, the first few seconds of the race have become the part Mercedes most needs to clean up.