Russell: Ferrari could have a major advantage

Pulse Sports Team 10:55 - 30 October 2026

Mercedes driver George Russell believes Ferrari's smaller turbocharger could hand them an advantage at this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix due to the extreme altitude of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

Sitting over 2,200 metres above sea level, the circuit's thin air drastically reduces aerodynamic downforce, forcing turbos to spin faster and work much harder to recover power output.

"It's going to be interesting because I think turbo lag will be a major factor for a lot of teams this weekend," Russell said in Mexico. "It's no secret that Ferrari run a smaller turbo compared to most, so they might well have an advantage in that respect."

"We're still not entirely sure how much tougher it will be this weekend, but I certainly don't expect it to be smooth sailing."

Mercedes are still evaluating the true effectiveness of their latest upgrade package, despite Andrea Kimi Antonelli's commanding victory in Austin last week.

"Since introducing this new package, our performance has been a bit strange," Russell added. "We first ran it in Malaysia, and it was a tough weekend for both Kimi and me. Kimi then ran it in Singapore, where he faced difficulties as well."

"Then in Austin, I ran the new package and struggled quite a bit, whereas Kimi had a very strong race. We know the car is capable of higher performance, but the operating window is extremely narrow, so we need to work on widening it."