Battle of the Britons can ignite new Formula One season

As rivalries go, Lando Norris versus George Russell is never going to be Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost. Both are what your mother might call “nice boys”. Well mannered. Even tempered. It is difficult to imagine them ever falling out to a degree where the gloves actually come off. But to say there is no niggle between them would be unfair.

Norris and Russell, who have known one another since their junior days, have been vying to be Lewis Hamilton’s successor as Top Brit ever since they made their Formula One debuts in the same race, here in Melbourne, in 2019.

Back then, of course, both were driving uncompetitive machines: Norris was in a middling McLaren, Russell in a dog of a Williams. But the prospects for both men, as the action gets under way in Australia this weekend, look decidedly different.

Two drivers, one (very good) power unit

Russell is the bookmakers’ favourite for the title. In a season which could well be decided by “energy harvesting” and engine reliability, being the team leader in the works Mercedes is clearly no bad thing. Equally, if Mercedes do end up having the strongest power unit, as everyone suspects they will, Norris should be well placed too, given that his McLaren uses the same engine.

It is not difficult to imagine a scenario in which they are fighting each other on track for both the world title and the “Best of Britain” title (assuming Hamilton does not come back and claim title No 8, in which case his GOAT status will be assured now and forever).

Norris may feel, with some justification, that he already has the latter title, having won his maiden World Championship last year. But the truth is, he made far more mistakes than Russell did in 2025. And both men know it.

Russell was probably second only to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in terms of maximising his results whereas Norris was decidedly ragged in the first part of the season, only belatedly finding form in the second half, which coincided helpfully with his team-mate Oscar Piastri’s form falling off a cliff. 

Russell did end up giving Norris credit for the way in which he finished the season. But he was also honest enough to admit that he might once have been “bitter” about the younger man’s success. It will be fascinating to see, if their cars do turn out to be well matched, how their dynamic develops.

Russell feels he had tougher route than Norris

Russell and Norris have an interesting relationship. They josh and joke with each other, tease each other – “We have a lot of banter,” Russell admitted this week. “I enjoy prodding him and winding him up with my public remarks and I think he likes returning the favour” – but there is always a slight undercurrent of jealousy or resentment. Particularly from Russell towards Norris.

Part of that may stem from Russell feeling Norris, the son of one of Britain’s richest men, had it easier than him growing up, always being handed the best karts in every series, then landing a drive at McLaren without first having to prove himself at a smaller team. 

Russell, by contrast, feels he had to graft and scrap his way to the top. His father, Steve, was a disciplinarian who drove him hard, often shouting or getting angry if Russell made mistakes. Steve sold his business to fund his son’s racing career. Failure for him was not an option.

Then there is their age. Although they are near contemporaries, Russell, 28, is almost two years older than Norris, at 26. Even if Norris was first to bag the big one, Russell will always be older. 

Russell is the one with the long-term relationship. He and his girlfriend, Carmen Montero Mundt, have been together for six years and Russell said this week, when asked about Charles Leclerc’s recent wedding, that marriage may not be far off for him either. He is the big brother.

You see it in the way they act around each other during press conferences, or on Drive to Survive; the complex social and professional dynamics at play. Russell teasing Norris about flying on a private jet with Verstappen (“Oh yeah, Lando wouldn’t want to fly commercial would he? He’s too big-time for that!”). Or snatching Norris’s cap during a pre-race parade lap and tossing it to a marshal.

Maybe it is a defence mechanism. Another way in which to assert himself. Russell may not (yet) have had a car to match Norris in F1. Indeed, his F1 record is nowhere near that of the younger man. Norris has roughly twice as many wins (11 vs 5), podiums (44 vs 24) and pole positions (16 vs 7) on his resume.

But Russell beat Norris the only time they came up against each other in junior formula, in 2018, when he won the F2 title. And Russell is not shy of bringing it up.

Both men are talking a good game heading into the season. Russell insisted this week that he was comfortable with the pressure of being title favourite, that he had “the balls” to get down and dirty if that was what it was going to take, that he was not afraid of anyone.

Both men in a good place

Physically, mentally, Russell feels ready to win his maiden title. He has spent more days in the simulator already on the 2026 car than he ever did on the 2025 car. He has his inner circle around him, providing him with the support he needs. In particular his partner Carmen, whose appendicitis last week he credited with reaching Australia on time since it meant he switched flights and did not travel through the Middle East as he was originally going to.

“She’s gutted not to be here,” Russell said. “Not because of Melbourne, but just because she’s so excited for the season. It shows me how lucky I am to have someone who cares so much about what I do and is so invested in it herself. That helps a huge amount in this journey to success.”

He has put in the groundwork, now is the time to reap the rewards. “Schumacher won his first title with Ferrari in his fifth season,” he pointed out. “No one realises he had four years prior of not winning a championship.”

Norris, meanwhile, says he is ready to win again. He too feels he has the right team in place now. Indeed, he knows he does. The fact that he had won the title last year proves it.

Will that championship free him up, meaning he cleans up the mistakes? Damon Hill thinks so. “The good news for Lando is it is going to get a lot easier for him now,” the 1996 world champion predicted in a column in these pages after Norris snatched his title in Abu Dhabi in December. 

“He won’t have that doubt any more,” Hill wrote. “He knows he has what it takes now. And he is still only 26. I was 36 when I won my title. I was out of time already. I might have got one more stab at it, had I gone to McLaren [all I would have had to do was beat Mika Hakkinen – easy!]. But Lando is young enough, and hungry enough, to win more.”

There are other, potentially more exciting title fights on offer this year. Russell versus Verstappen would be box office given their famously prickly relationship (Verstappen has variously described Russell as a “princess”, “two-faced” and a “loser”, while Russell has called Verstappen a “bully”).

[Source: Daily Telegraph]