George Russell shares demoralising outlook for 2025 as McLaren dominates F1 Australian GP Qualifying

George Russell feels McLaren's advantage over the rest of the field is so big that the team can now switch off the development for the 2025 F1 and work on 2026. The reigning F1 champions have started the 2025 season in the same manner they ended the 2024 season, i.e., by securing pole position.

From the pre-season test onwards, it had become clear that McLaren held an advantage over the rest of the field. The gap to the chasing pack, however, was not as clear. The first qualifying session, however, has been very revealing. As the session came to an end, we had Lando Norris on pole position with Oscar Piastri right alongside him.

This was McLaren's second consecutive front row lockout after doing the same in Abu Dhabi last season. What stands out, however, is the gap between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. The Brit had almost 4 tenths in hand over the Dutch driver, and that's a huge gap.

George Russell was in P4, and he was also around 4 tenths slower than Lando Norris. Talking about the gap to the media, the Mercedes driver felt that the gap means that the British team can now completely switch focus to 2026 because this kind of gap would not be overhauled and, in essence, already calls time on the championship battle. He told Motorsport.com:

"They're in such an advantage, because they can stop development now and go fully on '26 and it's difficult to overcome that gap. Red Bull started the [2024] season so far ahead of everyone, but I don't think people overtook them in terms of development."

He added:

"I think they brought some things to the car and went backwards. If you've got a six-tenth advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six tenths throughout the year. So, McLaren is in prime position for now and the future."

George Russell excited about the wet weather playing a role in the race

Looking at the forecast that has been predicted for Sunday, rain is expected to make an appearance during the race, and that could spice things up. Addressing the possibility of rain playing a role, George Russell felt that the rain could make things a bit more open. He said:

"Tomorrow is anybody's game, as it always is in the rain, but if it was dry, I expect that gap from McLaren to probably increase in race pace. It's all tyres. If you're strong in sector three, that only points to tyres, so they're doing something pretty special, that's for sure. We always hoped that it could be closer, but that was the reality and fair play to them."

The last time rain played a role in a race, we had George Russell battle it out with Lando Norris for the win in Brazil. In the end, a bad judgment call made by the team cost the driver a possible chance of picking up a win.