Piastri wary of Mercedes upgrade after Russell’s Baku pole

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.