Seemingly the bookies favourite for the 2026 title, George Russell relishes the potential fight with Max Verstappen.

Thus far we've only had a shakedown, but on social media some have already decided that the 2026 title is Russell's for the taking, and looking at Mercedes impressive performance in Spain the Briton does appear to be looking good.

However, the youngster is taking nothing for granted, and while he's definitely up for the fight, he is convinced that one of the toughest challenges he will face this year is four-time world champion, Max Verstappen.

"I didn't really feel anything from hearing that, to be honest," he replied when asked about bookmakers having him favourite for the title. "As I've said for a long time, I feel ready to fight for a world championship," he continued, "and whether we have that comment above us or not, that does not change my approach one single bit."

Asked about Verstappen, with whom the relationship has always been somewhat fractious, Russell, who admitted to being impressed by the Red Bull package last week, said: "I'd love for it to turn out that way. I do want to go head-to-head with Max, and obviously, Lando had a great season last year.

"I think probably the fans and people were expecting, you know, to potentially be Mercedes versus McLaren, because there was a lot of anticipation that Mercedes would clearly have the best power unit, but it seems like the other power unit manufacturers have done a good job.

"And we know that Red Bull have always had an amazing car, even through the years of dominance of Mercedes. It was their engine that was letting them down, not their car. And we obviously know how good Max is.

"So, yeah, I think he's very much going to be in the fight this year. And, you know, that is great. You obviously wish that you'd have a slightly easier time of it.

"But it should never be easy. And if you're going to win, you want to have fought for it and won it fair and square on track."