Whether or not the final testing ahead of the brand new F1 season is a compelling one or not for Mercedes, at this point of time, their noted talent George Russell seems to be carrying the force. But how come? It was none other than George Russell himself who topped the timesheets for Mercedes in the final practice session (FP3) for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 6, underlining his strong end to the season. Russell set a best lap of 1 minute 23.334 seconds, edging McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 0.004 seconds in a closely contested session. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished third, while Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri completed the top five.
The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag after Lewis Hamilton crashed, bringing FP3 to an early pause before running resumed. Despite the disruption, teams were able to gather valuable data ahead of qualifying.
Russell’s Abu Dhabi performance continued a trend of impressive practice pace throughout the 2025 season. The Mercedes driver also topped FP3 sessions in Las Vegas and Canada, consistently showing strong one-lap speed during race weekends.
That momentum has carried into early preparations for 2026. During unofficial preseason testing in Barcelona in late January, Russell logged 92 laps and set the fastest time of the morning session with a lap of 1:17.580. While testing conditions and programs vary between teams, the performance suggested that Mercedes has made encouraging early progress with its 2026 car.
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Although, it ought to be noted that while preseason testing times are not always a reliable indicator of competitive order, George Russell’s pace has stood out so far. And that is something that is bound to make Toto Wolff happy, don’t you think?
Combined with his late-season form in 2025, the early signs point to the noted British driver entering the new campaign with confidence and consistency. This season, a brand new one at that, is bound to see Mercedes set a strong foundation for the year ahead with young driver Kimi Antonelli having already proved a point in his impressive debut 2025 season.
