Russell sees 'a lot of potential' in 2026 Mercedes but is wary of fast-starting Ferrari

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a] told reporters in Bahrain on Friday ‌that he was struggling to get off the line quickly, while seven-time world ‌champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] had shown impressive speed in ‌the red car.[/p][p]Formula 1's governing body has been evaluating a new ‌race start lights sequence at the end of each ‌test session, with cars lining up and a new five-second pre-start flashing blue warning light before the standard procedure kicks in.[/p][p]The change reflects ‌added complications of the new power units, ⁠some of which appear to ‌take longer than others to get the turbo running at the ​correct speed to ensure a quick getaway.[/p][embed guid="e87b3da0-6afd-4259-843e-3fb51112c649" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2024549353239548081" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"I think we've got a lot of potential beneath us,"[/b] said ​Russell, already installed as the bookmaker's early title favourite.[/p][p][b]"But to win a race, you've also got to get off the ⁠line quite well. And ​I think the two starts I've made this week were worse than my worst ever start in Formula 1. And, Lewis, down in P11, got into P1."[/b][/p][p]McLaren's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a], whose car ‌has the same engines as Russell's, sounded less concerned.[/p][p][b]"I thought mine yesterday wasn't too bad. I was last but I think I passed about four cars as well. I think it's just very random at the moment, and I think we're all kind of learning what makes a good start, what makes a bad start,"[/b] said the Australian.[/p][p][b]"Just the way we do starts is much more difficult than last ‌year. It's trickier from every single angle. And I think ​what we're seeing at the moment is people just ‌getting things right and other people getting them very wrong."[/b][/p][p]Piastri expected the field to converge quickly after the early races.[/p][p]Apart from the starts, Russell said Red Bull appeared to have the best energy deployment of any ⁠team, but Mercedes were ⁠closing the gap.[/p][p]The season ‌starts in Australia on March 8.[/p]