Jolyon Palmer sees a difference in behavior between how George Russell has behaved in 2026 and how Lando Norris behaved in 2025 in Formula 1.
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At the beginning of last year, the McLaren Brit complained about how he didn’t feel comfortable with his car, even with victories. Meanwhile, the Mercedes Brit has shown confidence with the W17 since the shakedown in Barcelona.
Assessing the fight for the Formula 1 title in 2026, Palmer pointed out that Russell has seemed more confident in the dispute than Norris appeared at the beginning of 2025.
“I feel like he’s confident right now. I feel there’s a difference when I compare George to Lando last year, when Lando seemed to feel more pressure, by the way he spoke — by the way he said he wasn’t comfortable with the car,” he told F1Nation.
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“He arrived in China after having won in Melbourne, but still said: ‘I’m not feeling the car loving me’. George, on the other hand, is calm. He’s simply parading through the paddock. He still has that confident air. And I think every time he appears on track, he thinks he’s going to win. It didn’t happen in Japan, but I don’t see him feeling any kind of pressure yet,” he continued.
“Of course, it must exist, but I don’t think that will happen after just one weekend where he was clearly outmatched. Maybe that will happen in a few races, but for now, I think he’s still confident,” he concluded.
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