F1 insider drops 2-word reaction to George Russell's shocking observation about McLaren's advantage

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill gave a concise reaction to Mercedes driver George Russell's assessment of McLaren's pace during the 2025 Australian Grand Prix qualifying. The British driver was in the reckoning for pole position alongside the two McLarens and Max Verstappen at the iconic Albert Park Circuit on Saturday.

However, Russell ultimately fell away from the challenge to finish P4 in the qualifying session for the main race on Sunday behind the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

Despite putting on a respective showing, George Russell's fastest lap in the Q3 was almost half a second slower than Lando Norris's pole lap around the street circuit. Speaking with the media about the Woking-based outfit's pace advantage over the grid, the Mercedes driver reflected, via The Race:

"They're at such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on ‘26 as it's difficult to overcome that gap. If you've got a six tenths advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six tenths throughout the course of a year. So McLaren are in prime position for now and the future."

He also added:

"Red Bull started the [2024] season off so far ahead of everyone, but I don't think people overtook them in terms of development. They brought some things to the car and went backwards - or had some things - let's say - clarified, and went backwards."

The 1996 world champion reposted Russell's comments on his Instagram Story and gave a two-word reaction, saying:

"Next Level."

Snapshot of George Russell's comments on Damon Hill's Story...Credits-Instagram

McLaren was touted to be the early season favorites to take both titles after a strong showing in the pre-season testing in Bahrain a fortnight back.

George Russell expands on McLaren's advantage ahead of the Australian Grand Prix main race

Mercedes driver George Russell stated that McLaren's advantage over the rest of the grid will only grow, as evidenced by their tire management tricks from the 2024 season.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 27-year-old reflected on the MCL39's pace and said:

"You've only got to look at their strength in Singapore, their weakness in Vegas, and how good they were in the race pace in Bahrain [testing]. It's all tires. If you're strong in sector three [in Australia], that only points to tires.

"So they're doing something pretty special, that's for sure. It's kind of as we expected: McLaren out front with a comfortable gap. And then I feel like this season could be anyone's game between ourselves, Red Bull, and Ferrari."

George Russell displayed some eye-catching race pace during the FP2 session in Melbourne, but with a threat of rain looming over the race, it would be difficult to rule out the possibility of an unpredictable result.