George Russell explains Mercedes’ decline since 2022: “We started in the wrong direction,” but he also reveals why this could become a strength for 2026.
Mercedes faced the major 2022 regulatory overhaul as the team to beat, led by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton alongside George Russell. The Brackley squad came off eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships won between 2014 and 2021. Reality, however, proved very different. With the new ground-effect cars, Mercedes failed to maintain its dominance, but according to Russell, the mistakes made could become the key to 2026 success.
From 2022 to today, Mercedes has secured only six overall victories. Meanwhile, Red Bull established its dominance, and McLaren, a customer team using Mercedes engines, even managed to surpass the works team, winning two consecutive championships.
Russell on Mercedes’ 2022 mistake that won’t repeat in 2026
Explaining the challenging period, George Russell spoke to the media: “I think it was an extremely demanding set of regulations, to be honest.” He noted how the scenario changed over the course of the season. “In the second half of the year, Red Bull was at a very high level. If you had asked me this question at the summer break, I would have said we were at a similar level to them.”
According to George Russell, comparing with the previous season shows how unstable the situation was. “In 2023, Aston Martin was ahead of us and Ferrari, then they dropped off. McLaren was nowhere, and then they found something really spectacular.”
George Russell links Mercedes’ struggles to a specific technical decision made in 2022. “I can’t say exactly what we lacked,” he admitted. “I do believe the problem was the starting point. We started in the wrong direction, and that led us down the wrong path.” The reference is to the zeropod concept, which influenced the car’s initial development. While Mercedes was trying to solve these issues, Red Bull had already found the right approach.
“In 2022, Red Bull had the least porpoising from the start,” Russell explained. “This gave them a six- to eight-month advantage while we were still trying to understand what wasn’t working.” This early gap is one Mercedes never fully closed.
George Russell does not believe these challenges will directly affect the next major regulation change. “I don’t think these regulations will impact the next ones,” he concluded. “The problems will be completely different.”
For Mercedes, the outcome of this technical cycle remains disappointing. The upcoming regulations represent a new opportunity—perhaps the last chance to truly return to the top.
Ultimately, the “zero-pod” failure served as a harsh but necessary lesson in technical humility for the Brackley squad, forcing them to dismantle and rebuild their aerodynamic philosophy from the ground up. By acknowledging that the 2026 challenges will be entirely unique, Russell is signaling that Mercedes has finally cleared the slate, ready to ensure that their next “starting point” doesn’t lead them down another three-year dead end.
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