What George Russell expects from Mercedes' upgrades in Malaysia

Pulse Sports Team 02:21 - 02 October 2026

George Russell has commented on the major upgrade package Mercedes are set to debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, discussing the step forward he expects to see from the W17.

For the Silver Arrows, this will be only their second significant upgrade package of the season, following the one introduced in Canada at the end of May. Given the time that has elapsed since, paddock speculation suggests the updates could yield a gain of at least a second per lap, though Russell does not quite agree with that assessment.

"No. It's a solid step simply because so much time has passed since our last upgrades. It is a bit unusual to bring an update in May and then wait until October for the next one. As a single step it is huge, but over a standard season, it's just a normal development curve from May to October. Hopefully, it brings us back toward the front at the circuits that proved a bit more challenging for us in recent races," Russell said, before elaborating on the updates themselves. "The characteristics are changing. Nothing fundamental, just more downforce—that's the essence of the package. We've been quite slippery, so maintaining very low drag was vital for us and definitely helped at several tracks. But overall, it's a fairly conventional upgrade package," the Briton added.