George Russell jokes Lewis Hamilton will complain about Mercedes ‘illegal’ engine

George Russell is taking a plane ride with Lewis Hamilton as Formula 1 moves from Melbourne to Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

After what Mercedes produced at the season-opener, Russell was anticipating comment from Hamilton about the Mercedes engine being “illegal” and whatnot. Russell joked that he would just tell his former Mercedes team-mate to “shut up” and focus on Ferrari business. The Scuderia were Mercedes’ closest challenger during the Australian Grand Prix.

George Russell jokes about telling Lewis Hamilton to ‘shut up’ on China flight

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

F1 2026 got up and running in Melbourne, as at long last, the initial pecking order in this new era became clear.

The results were delightful from a Mercedes point of view, as the Silver Arrows outpaced its closest competition by 0.8 seconds over one lap.

In the race, Ferrari offered a sterner challenge, boosted by the confirmation of its daunting abilities at launching off the line.

But, Ferrari’s fresher tyres were no match for Mercedes, as Russell and Kimi Antonelli kept comfortably out of reach, Russell heading a one-two result.

Hamilton applied late pressure on Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, but was forced to settle for fourth, matching his best grand prix result with Ferrari.

From Melbourne, Formula 1 heads to Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. Russell revealed to Viaplay that he was flying to Shanghai with Hamilton, his teammate at Mercedes from 2022-24.

Considering all the chatter in pre-season around Mercedes’ engine and an alleged compression ratio loophole, Russell expected to have Hamilton chewing his ear off on the flight. Mercedes’ rapid pace in Melbourne would only give Hamilton more ammunition.

But, Russell joked of his plans to maintain sanity on this plane journey.

“I’m flying with Lewis, so I’m sure I’m going to hear about, ‘Your engine’s so good, your compression ratio is illegal,’ this and that.

“So yeah, I think I’ll just try to get to sleep quite early.

“I’ll just say shut up and focus on your own stuff [laughs].”

Latest F1 2026 talking points via PlanetF1.com

Ferrari telemetry data explains secrets behind epic Australian GP start

Australian GP conclusions: Formula Net Zero, Russell’s main threat, Aston Martin-Honda mistake

Hamilton did indeed express concerns to PlanetF1.com and others over Mercedes and the compression ratio saga, hoping that this was not behind the Silver Arrows’ 0.8s pace advantage over a single Albert Park lap.

Hamilton said that he would be “disappointed” in governing body the FIA if that was the case.

But, Ferrari’s race pace gave reason for optimism, with the gamble not to pit Leclerc or Hamilton under Virtual Safety Car periods failing to pay off.

Leclerc was left “positively surprised” with Ferrari’s pace on Sunday in Melbourne, having traded the lead with Russell throughout the opening laps.

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Lewis Hamilton ‘disappointed’ in FIA if Mercedes compression ratio behind Melbourne speed