Formula 1 pre-season testing is always a fascinating time to see how the grid might look going into the first race of the season.
However, whoever is fastest in Bahrain is unlikely to be confident of winning the Australian Grand Prix, especially given the difference in the two tracks.
This season’s three days of running are particularly important considering that half of the 2025 F1 grid are either full-season rookies or drivers who have changed teams.
They would have each spent countless hours in the simulator getting used to their new cars, but there isn’t a substitute for time spent behind the wheel of the car on track.
For the 10 drivers who have stayed where they were at the end of last season and aren’t new to the sport, 2025 is an excellent opportunity to kick on.
Some of those drivers have new teammates to compete against, such as George Russell at Mercedes.
Russell spent three years competing with Lewis Hamilton before his move to Ferrari and now has exciting youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli alongside him.
Jolyon Palmer was assessing the British driver’s reputation within the sport and doesn’t believe he gets the credit he deserves after outscoring Hamilton last year and increasing his tally of F1 podiums to 15.
| Category | George Russell | Lewis Hamilton |
| 2024 points | 245 | 223 |
| Grand Prix results | 15 | 9 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 18 | 6 |
| Grand Prix wins | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Prix poles | 4 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 4 | 5 |
| Best finish | 1st | 1st |
| Disqualifications | 1 | 0 |
| Retirements | 1 | 2 |
| Retirements (classified finish) | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 21 | 21 |
| Sprint results | 5 | 1 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 5 | 1 |
| Sprint wins | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint poles | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint podiums | 1 | 1 |
Jolyon Palmer believes Mercedes driver George Russell is ‘underrated’ in Formula 1
Palmer was commentating on the second day of testing for Sky Sports F1 and F1 TV and talking about the various teammate battles happening up and down the paddock.
Discussing Mercedes’ new pair, he said: “I’m interested in how Antonelli is going to shape up against George Russell because he’s not coming in alongside a rookie. He’s coming in alongside George Russell.
“Now, I have a feeling that George is kind of underrated in Formula 1, bearing in mind the job that he’s done alongside Lewis Hamilton, and, you know, Lewis has been the seven-time world champion.
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“George has held a really good effort to him over the last few years. In fact, beating him last year, and now he’s going to be the team leader.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how close Kimi can get and really another metric to how good is George Russell.
“Can he lead the team and assert his authority in that?”
Jolyon Palmer encouraged by George Russell’s verdict on Mercedes’ 2025 F1 car
Over the past few seasons, Mercedes have struggled to consistently maximise their car’s potential.
Antonelli looked confident during his first run while Russell didn’t put a foot wrong during his 71-lap run on Thursday.
Mercedes aren’t convinced by Ferrari’s 2025 car yet, but that may change the longer Hamilton and Charles Leclerc spend on the track.
However, when Russell was asked about the car on Wednesday, he suggested that the team had made positive steps forward over the winter.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage
When Palmer heard what the British driver said, he explained: “Mercedes, George Russell said it was the best the Mercedes card ever felt in Bahrain.
“Bearing in mind, he jumped in in 2022, he didn’t feel the glory years. That was very encouraging for him and Kimi Antonelli looked very solid in it.”
Russell will be desperate for Mercedes to return to the glory days when Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were winning titles.
That may not happen in 2025, but he’ll have every hope that the upcoming ruleset changes in 2026 make all the difference for the Silver Arrows.
