George Russell has shared his initial thoughts on Mercedes’ major upgrade package after debuting it during Friday practice at Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Mercedes has brought its first substantial car upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix at the end of May to Sepang, which is hosting this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix as a result of the ongoing war in the Middle East. The W17, which has been the class of the field so far in 2026, has been updated with major revisions to the floor, rear suspension and bodywork.
However, Mercedes endured a difficult start to the weekend in Malaysia, with Russell and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli only seventh and eighth fastest in second practice. This is in stark contrast to their dominant form earlier in the season.
When asked if he could get a read on the changes, Russell said, “I'm feeling the downforce in some of the corners, but with this amount of tyre overheating and tyre degradation that kind of trumps everything. So we just need to get on top of that overnight. That's more of a setup rather than the upgrade itself, and we go from there.”
Looking at the pace of rivals, Russell acknowledged the challenge. “Currently, I think Verstappen looks very fast and then the race pace of McLaren, it looks very quick, but, you know, never say never,” he added.
Verstappen topped the timesheets in FP1, before Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in FP2. Mercedes are expected to bounce back in qualifying, but Russell insists his team faces a fight to overcome Red Bull and McLaren, who showed promising speed.
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George Russell has delivered his first verdict on Mercedes' major upgrade at Sepang, with tyre overheating and degradation emerging as the main issue during Friday practice.
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