George Russell: This is how much the new Mercedes upgrade is really expected to deliver

Mercedes has travelled to Malaysia with a major upgrade package. It will be the last major batch of updates this year. Silver Arrow driver George Russell, who is second in the World Championship and has closed the gap slightly on his team-mate Kimi Antonelli following his victory in Baku last week, revealed a few details.

Russell: “It’s a big step. We consider it a big step simply because it’s been so long since we last brought an upgrade. It’s quite unusual to have an upgrade as early as May and then not again until October. So, as a single upgrade step, it’s a big one. But in a normal season, that’s simply the kind of progression you’d expect from an upgrade package spanning May to October.” So the leap is a big one – but mainly because it’s being made in a single instalment.

Russell: “I hope it will take us back to the front on these tracks, which have been a bigger challenge for us in the last six races.” So in Malaysia too? Russell on the prospects at the Sepang International Circuit: “We have a very efficient car on circuits with lower aerodynamic drag. So we were very competitive in Azerbaijan and at Monza. Red Bull were on the podium at both Monza and Azerbaijan. I therefore expect Malaysia to be a bit more like the circuits in Madrid, Budapest and Zandvoort, where teams like Ferrari and McLaren have performed strongly. So it’s going to be an interesting race.”

Russell revealed a little more about the upgrade: “The car’s characteristics are changing, but nothing fundamental. Obviously, the increase in downforce makes up the bulk of the package. We’re quite aerodynamically efficient on the straights, so from an aerodynamic drag perspective, it was important for us to maintain that low drag. That has definitely helped us at a number of circuits, but it’s simply a fairly conventional upgrade package.”

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