Russell: Mercedes upgrades miss in Malaysia qualifying
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 3, 2026
Russell explains qualifying
George Russell said Mercedes brought a major upgrade package to Sepang, including a new floor and rear suspension changes, but the team never found the pace it wanted in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. He called the session “a strange one” after he could not explain why his speed fell away, and he said Mercedes never matched Red Bull’s pace at any point in the weekend. The result was Mercedes’ worst one-lap performance of the season, a sharp setback for a team that expected more from the changes it introduced. The heat and the abrasive surface in Malaysia added to the challenge, with extreme tire degradation and overheating overshadowing the new parts. Russell said Sepang’s surface seemed to hurt Mercedes more than other teams, and that the team did not improve as the weekend went on. Max Verstappen took pole position, his first pole of the season, while the grid shifted after Isack Hadjar’s penalty. Russell moved up to seventh, and Kimi Antonelli will start third after Hadjar’s five-place grid penalty.
Mercedes upgrade falls short
Mercedes arrived with one of its biggest updates of the season, but the package never delivered the step forward the team expected over a single lap. Russell said the car needed overnight setup changes to get closer to the pace, a sign that the team still had work to do even after fitting the new floor and rear suspension changes. He pointed to a weekend-long struggle against the conditions at Sepang, where the hot, abrasive track punished the car and left Mercedes searching for answers. The team did not show the kind of progression it wanted from Friday through qualifying, and Russell said the pace simply did not come. The contrast with Red Bull’s pace stood out all weekend, and Mercedes never found a clean way to close the gap before the grid was set. Even with the disappointing showing, the team still had work to do before race day.
Race outlook stays open
Russell said Sunday’s race should be “a totally different story” because high tire degradation could reshape the order at Sepang. He said the Grand Prix was likely to require all three tire compounds, which would make tire management important during the race. That gives Mercedes a chance to reset after a difficult qualifying session, and Russell said the team could still fight for the podium if it finds the right rhythm. The abrasive surface and the overheating issues that hurt the car over one lap could turn into an advantage for teams that manage their tires best over a longer run. Russell’s view was clear, Mercedes did not get the response it wanted from the upgrade package in qualifying, but the race itself offers a different test. With strategy, degradation and tire wear likely to shape the Grand Prix, the team still has room to recover. Russell said the weekend had produced a poor qualifying result, yet he still saw the podium as a realistic target if Mercedes can unlock more pace overnight and carry that into the race.
