Piastri wary of Mercedes upgrade after Russell’s Baku pole

Oscar Piastri is wary of Mercedes’ upgrade at Sepang after George Russell took pole by more than eight-tenths of a second in Azerbaijan.

GPBeat · Newsroom01 Oct 2026, 23:18 · 1 min

Speaking to media before the race weekend at Sepang, Piastri said he had heard Mercedes was bringing upgrades. Referring to Russell’s qualifying advantage in Azerbaijan, he said: “If they're on pole by eight tenths last week, that's not a great sign.” RacingNews365 English reported his remarks on 1 October.

Russell took pole in Azerbaijan by 0.837 seconds over Charles Leclerc, with Piastri another 0.001 seconds back in third. Russell won the race, though Max Verstappen finished less than two-tenths of a second behind him. Piastri came 14th after locking up at Turn 1 while battling Verstappen for second place.

RacingNews365 describes the Mercedes upgrade as revised bodywork and sidepods intended to improve cornering without sacrificing straight-line speed. It is the team’s first major technical update since May’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Piastri expects Sepang’s high-speed corners to suit McLaren better than Baku, but said he did not know where the team would rank this weekend.

Sources 01

SOURCEOscar Piastri raises menacing Mercedes concernRacingNews365 English · Source date as found: 2026-10-01

Source context

RacingNews365 English reported Piastri’s pre-weekend media remarks on 1 October 2026. The upgrade’s effect at Sepang was not yet known.

Claims and supporting evidence 5

Piastri expressed concern that Mercedes was bringing upgrades after Russell’s large Baku qualifying advantage. His remark is a conditional assessment, not a finding that the upgrade has improved Mercedes’ pace.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Piastri’s pre-race assessment, as reported by RacingNews365, which says it was among the media he addressed. Ahead of the October 2026 race weekend at Sepang. Only RacingNews365’s account of the media remarks was supplied; no separate transcript or independent publication was read.

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Piastri expected the circuit to suit McLaren better than Baku, citing the high-speed corners, but said he did not know where the team would rank.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Piastri’s assessment of McLaren’s prospects at Sepang. Ahead of the October 2026 race weekend at Sepang. This is the driver’s expectation, not an observed weekend result.

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RacingNews365 reports that Russell took Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole by 0.837 seconds over Charles Leclerc, with Piastri another 0.001 seconds behind in third. It reports that Russell won the race narrowly over Verstappen and Piastri finished 14th after a Turn 1 lock-up while fighting Verstappen for second.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Baku qualifying and race context reported by RacingNews365. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix preceding the October 2026 Sepang weekend. These results are reported in S1; no separate official classification was supplied. The qualifying margin must not be presented as the race-winning margin.

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RacingNews365 reports that Mercedes brought its first major technical upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix in May. The publication describes revised bodywork and sidepods intended to improve cornering without sacrificing straight-line speed; that intended effect is not a measured performance outcome.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Mercedes upgrade context in RacingNews365’s reporting. Ahead of the October 2026 Sepang weekend; comparison with May’s Canadian Grand Prix. S1 does not establish how much performance the package delivers.

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S1 mentions an estimated gain of around three tenths of a second per lap, but does not identify the estimators. It is an estimate, not an achieved or verified gain.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Numerical estimate of the upgrade’s possible effect. Before the upgrade’s performance at the October 2026 Sepang weekend could be assessed. No underlying calculation, telemetry or measured lap-time comparison is provided.

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This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.