Mercedes have clearly emerged as the fastest car in the new Formula 1 2026 season, completing a 1-2 at the inaugural Australian Grand Prix and George Russell winning at Albert Park. The compression of car dimensions and the 50/50 power split between the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and electrical energy have seemingly catapulted Mercedes back to being the best.

So can they win their first Formula One Constructors’ Championship since 2021?

Former Williams and Renault driver Jacques Villeneuve believes the competitive picture in Formula One could change as the 2026 season progresses, even if Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team appears to have a big advantage.

“Well, the team will get closer during the season as we progress. That’s a given. Then we’ll see how much Mercedes has an advantage or not. Mercedes really have a good chassis. Ferrari is there close enough to get good points, which could allow them later in the season to get some victories once everything balances,” Jacques Villeneuve told Firstpost during an online interaction organised by online broadcaster FanCode.

‘A little bit tougher for McLaren and Red Bull’

Villeneuve, who was speaking from Shanghai ahead of the upcoming weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, added that four-time world champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull should also be able to do well as we complete more races despite leadership changes at the team.

“A little bit tougher for McLaren and Red Bull, although we’ve seen Red Bull always recover. So, Max (Verstappen), if he’s not too far, always count on him and his teammate (Isack Hadjar) seems to be good this year. He has a teammate who seems to be able to be competitive, which should help the team move forward. But the team has changed so much at Red Bull that we still have to figure out and understand how they all work together now, because even the head of the team has changed. Helmut Marko is not there either.”

2025 winner McLaren had a tough time in Melbourne as
world champion Norris finished fifth, and Oscar Piastri crashed out in the warm-up lap. Villeneuve feels early indications only suggest that McLaren are far from ready to put up a title challenge in 2026.

“What is difficult to understand is how much slower the McLaren is than the Mercedes because it’s supposed to be the same engine. And it’s hard to understand how they could be so far behind, other than maybe they spent all the energy last year on winning the championship and not really designing the new car.”

A job well done for Mercedes and George Russell 👏🫡#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/2QrxfE6DcY

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2026

Villeneuve also pointed out that 23-year-old Piastri of McLaren, who missed out on the driver championship by 13 points last year, is under the most pressure among all the drivers on the grid.

“Piastri was leading the whole championship last year. He had his shot, but his teammate is now a world champion…Mostly when, as a driver, you know that you had your shot at winning a championship and now the car doesn’t seem to be able to give you that anymore, that puts the expectations so high on him,” the 54-year-old Villeneuve said.

“When he was signed with McLaren, everyone was saying he was the real deal. He’s the world champion. But he hasn’t shown it. Now people start thinking, was it true? The ball changes camps so fast. It’s a very fragile position. It’s a very human nature that people are almost happy when someone fails and falters and it’s tough. So I would say he’s the one under the most pressure right now.”

Villeneuve praises India-origin driver Arvid Lindblad

One of the standout performers from the opening race weekend was young Indian-origin driver Arvid Lindblad, who impressed in the opening race with P8 finish in Racing Bulls. But Villeneuve urged caution before drawing big conclusions.

“Arvid did amazing in Melbourne. He was ahead of his teammate in the race. He raced well and he’s quite young. But you have to be careful because the number of heroes we’ve had in their first race in Melbourne every year and people say, oh great, that’s the next future champion. But within two races they disappear completely,” Villeneuve, who won five races in his F1 career, said.

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“So there’s always this excitement of the first race, the adrenaline of that first race, that often makes them overperform. And then suddenly they think, wow, I’m great and collapse after that. So we have to wait and see. But he seems to be the real deal. So let’s give him two or three races to see what happens. But that was an impressive first race under pressure.”

All in all, Villeneuve’s message is clear — the early shape of the season might suggest a Mercedes advantage, but Formula One seasons don’t always stay predictable for long. As teams adapt, the real competitive order could still shift in the months ahead.

The F1 2026 season in India is being streamed live on FanCode.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix
| Photo Credit: Reuters