George Russell drops 4-word reaction as he ends F1 Pre-season test on top of the standings

George Russell, the Mercedes senior driver, topped the final session of the 2025 F1 pre-season test in Bahrain on day 3. He took to his Instagram to share his precise four-word reaction.

The 2025 F1 pre-season test, which panned out over three days from February 26 to February 28, concluded on Friday. The teams had their final chance to gather the data and get their challengers ready in time for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

For Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli featured in the morning session and completed 61 laps with a fastest time of 1:30:888 to rank P2.

In the afternoon session, Russell took over and completed as many as 91 laps. He went fastest in the session with a time of 1:29:545 to top the final day charts.

Following the conclusion of the three-day test, Russell shared a story on his Instagram handle and said:

"Over & out, testing 🫡."

Snapshot of George Russell's Instagram story [Image Source: @georgerussell63/Instagram]

During the session, he also waved at his former teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was racing in Scuderia Ferrari's challenger, SF-25. Russell revealed that Mercedes has fond memories attached to Hamilton, but it's also important to move on.

For the 2025 season, George Russell will have a bigger role with Mercedes as a senior driver. He not only has to lead the team but also act as a mentor to rookie Antonelli.

While the W16 has shown good pace throughout the pre-season test schedule, the real picture will be out only in Melbourne on March 16.

For Mercedes, transitioning from a seven-time world champion to an 18-year-old rookie will likely be a tough task. But Russell and his experience with the team will likely be a talking point. He beat Hamilton in 19 of the 23 qualifying sessions last year and often had an edge over the seven-time champion in race weekends as well.

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George Russell looking forward to having a great partnership with Kimi Antonelli

George Russell [L] Kimi Antonelli [R] (Image Source: Getty)

George Russell is also entering a transition year in 2025 after Lewis Hamilton left to join Ferrari. The 27-year-old will team up with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an 18-year-old rookie who is yet to debut in F1.

Nonetheless, Russell is expecting only positive things from Antonelli. In a team statement, the Brit said:

"It's also exciting having a new teammate in Kimi this year. He's incredibly quick, and I think we will make a great partnership. Naturally, there is a lot for him to learn in his first season, but I'm looking forward to helping him do that and working together to help push the team forward."

Kimi Antonelli participated in a couple of practice sessions for Mercedes last season. However, he crashed 10 minutes into the FP1 session in Monza, which is also his home Grand Prix.