Source:REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
[Saba Sports News] The 2026 regulations emphasize energy recovery and deployment management, requiring drivers to precisely allocate electrical energy within a single lap to achieve optimal performance. After the pre-season test in Bahrain, George Russell spoke to the media and assessed teams’ energy-recovery and deployment strategies. Russell believes that, although Red Bull Racing still holds an advantage in battery energy deployment, the gap with the Mercedes camp has narrowed significantly. In an earlier interview Russell described Red Bull’s advantage in energy-release efficiency as “quite frightening.” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff estimated that the difference in this area could give Red Bull nearly a second of lap-time advantage. However, as testing has progressed, Mercedes’ power-unit tuning has made clear improvements, closing the gap with Red Bull.
The editor believes that, compared with the previous-generation rules, this year’s cars generate less aerodynamic disturbance and following other cars will be easier, but the real differences are likely to come down to the varying energy-management strategies of different teams and drivers.