George Russell has told his F1 title rivals that the 2026 Mercedes "feels more like a race car" than the 'humiliation' suffered by the last rule changes in 2022.
Team boss Toto Wolff spoke earlier this week about believing there was a 'humiliation' suffered in 2022 after the W13 zero sidepod concept failed, as the team went from 2021 constructors' champions to fourth place with a single race win.
For F1's new rules era, owing to the importance of the new power units and Mercedes' dominance from when the turbo hybrid units were introduced in 2014, the Brackley-based team has been regarded as the title favourites, with Russell himself favourite for the drivers' crown.
During the pre-season Barcelona shakedown test, Russell completed the most laps of any driver as Mercedes racked up 502 laps, although Russell was pipped by former team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time on the final evening in his Ferrari.
Reflecting on that first outing, Russell believes the W17 "feels more like a race car" and that he "feels at one" with the new machine.
"I feel very much at home with Mercedes, and my first impressions driving the car were that I felt at one with the car, to be honest," Russell told media, including RacingNews365.
"It was a lot more so than we felt in 2022 when we had all these problems, and it was very unnatural. It wasn't comfortable to drive, and it was very challenging to drive as well.
"But this W17, it feels more like a race car, and it feels closer to what F1 should be, so that's really enjoyable.
"Obviously, we've only driven the car for three days, and it is still very early, but quoting Toto [Wolff], it doesn't look like a turd, which is a bonus.
"In the early days like this, when it could still be a bad car, you can highlight those negatives early on, but we don't believe it is, but is it a car that can produce a world championship? It is way too early to see.
"We'll have to wait and see if the car lives up to the expectation."
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