George Russell teases 'intriguing' discovery as F1 faces major unknown

George Russell believes the style of grand prix racing will be "intriguing" at the early 2026 races owing to the new energy management demands.

With 50% of the power output from the new power units coming from the beefed-up batteries in 2026, a far greater emphasis has now been placed on drivers to harvest and re-capture energy. 

At circuits such as Sakhir in Bahrain and Canada's Gilles Villeneuve, the heavy braking zones will aid in this task, but at those such as Australia's Albert Park and Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Corniche, the long straights joined by sweeping corners mean drivers will not be able to easily harvest energy.

This means that different driving styles will be required, with Mercedes racer Russell believing an "intriguing" game will be played as drivers try to figure out the best style to ace the regulations.

"You definitely can, because there is less aero on the cars, so there is less disturbance," Russell explained to media, including RacingNews365, when asked if following would be easier in 2026.

"I think the big difference this year compared to the previous era is the variability in energy deployment between the cars and drivers, depending on driving styles, which will probably far outweigh the aero turbulence.

"So I think we will see different racing, and tracks like Melbourne and Jeddah, where there are numerous long straights, I think the racing could be quite intriguing."