Russell says Mercedes still trails Verstappen and McLaren

George Russell believes Mercedes has yet to reach the required level at Sepang and sees Max Verstappen and McLaren as serious rivals. Asked whether his team could challenge for pole if it made set-up changes on Saturday, the driver replied: “Currently I think Verstappen looks very fast and then the race pace of McLaren looked very quick.”

It had been a difficult day for Mercedes, Russell said, as he experienced the Sepang layout for the first time. “It was a really cool experience driving this circuit. I have never driven here before and it’s a really iconic place,” he said. But the conditions made the team’s work harder: Russell described heavy tyre degradation and said Mercedes still needed to adjust the car. He also pointed to tyre overheating and wear as factors limiting the benefit he felt through the corners.

On Friday, Mercedes introduced its biggest package of updates in four months. The aerodynamic changes include revisions to the W17’s floor and rear suspension. Russell said, however, that the gains from the new parts had been outweighed by tyre degradation on a demanding track with abrasive asphalt.

On track, Russell finished second to Verstappen in the opening practice session. Later, the two Mercedes drivers, Russell and Kimi Antonelli, were seventh and eighth on the timesheet after failing to put together their soft-tyre flying laps. In the second session, Charles Leclerc set the pace ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris; Verstappen was fourth, two tenths off the fastest time, without using soft tyres.

McLaren had been viewed as one of Mercedes’ main challengers because of its car’s strengths through high-speed corners. Oscar Piastri, sixth overall for the day, also said McLaren’s second session had “seemed reasonable”. He described a close contest among the top four teams: Red Bull had looked strong, Mercedes had shown strength at points, and Ferrari had also been competitive in the second session. Piastri thought McLaren might be “a tiny step behind”, while pointing to the progress made since the first session.

For Russell, the immediate task is to find the right set-up: the car update alone is not the answer to the problems identified. The order remains open ahead of qualifying, but his assessment clearly puts Verstappen and McLaren among the main benchmarks to watch.