Chinese Grand Prix: McLaren advantage bigger than Red Bull ever had, says George Russell

McLaren’s advantage over the field is “bigger than Red Bull has ever had” and their car is “capable of winning every race”, says Mercedes driver George Russell.

Norris held off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend after he and team-mate Oscar Piastri took a one-two in qualifying, more than 0.3 seconds clear of the field.

Red Bull’s Verstappen has won the past four drivers’ championships and particularly dominated the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2023, Red Bull won 21 of the 22 races.

Russell said of McLaren before this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix: “Their car should win every race but I don’t think they will win every race this year. Let’s see.

“The gap they have this year on everybody is bigger than Red Bull has ever had. But when Max was in that [2023] car he was pretty reliable every single lap he did, every single run in Q3, throughout qualifying, never really a question.”