Russell backs Mercedes upgrade despite lack of expected gains

George Russell is defending Mercedes’ latest upgrade ahead of the United States Grand Prix, despite a difficult start for the package. It has yet to deliver the expected performance, and the W17 even appeared to lose performance after the Malaysia changes. Russell said there is nothing at present to suggest the updates will not work.

Mercedes introduced the package in Malaysia. In Singapore, Kimi Antonelli continued testing the new parts while Russell’s car ran without the updates, giving the team a comparison across two consecutive race weekends. Russell said the exercise yielded useful data on the differences between the cars.

Russell said the comparison also showed that the package probably needs larger setup changes than Mercedes initially expected. He still sees potential in it, but said the team must keep improving if it wants to continue winning races this year.

Both drivers are set to use the updates again in Austin. Russell is confident Mercedes will show improvement during the upcoming triple-header.