Mercedes has purchased upgrades for the US Grand Prix this weekend, and they are already seeing faster speeds with George Russell in the hopes of outpacing the car from the following year.
Mercedes, according to George Russell, has “definitely uncovered a few things” that they intend to employ in the upcoming season.
Prior to 2025, the Silver Arrows want to be a championship-winning team once more. Despite their competitiveness over the last three seasons, they have failed to compete with Red Bull, and now McLaren and Ferrari are both ahead of them.
With Lewis Hamilton out for the first time in ten years, Mercedes is already looking ahead to the upcoming season. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will join Russell, and the team has made some significant improvements for the US Grand Prix, where Russell will start the sprint on Saturday in second place.
Ahead of the significant regulation changes in 2026, the British team hopes to carry over some of the positive changes into the upcoming season, which will be the last year of the current rules cycle. However, Russell is certain that they have made progress on the W16 package.
“Obviously we reverted with the [previous] upgrades that we brought to Spa,” he told the Austin media. With this upgrade, we’re essentially taking two steps forward, so we’re hoping it will make a big difference. These three weeks off, in my opinion, have been fantastic since they have given us all the chance to stand back and reevaluate the car overall, as well as to consider next year.
“There are undoubtedly some things we want to change moving forward in the upcoming year. It’s also been encouraging to see that you don’t always have the time to thoroughly examine the car’s basics when you’re in the middle of a season.
However, I’m hopeful that the upgrade will allow us to compete once more, at least in qualifying, for the top four spots, and then for a podium finish in the race. However, we are aware that McLaren and Lando [Norris] are currently a step ahead of everyone.
The final significant rule change occurred in 2021, shortly after Mercedes and Hamilton were controversially beaten to win the driver’s title. They have been playing catch-up since 2022, but Russell acknowledges that teams are essentially playing a guessing game as 2026 approaches.
“It’s like digging for gold in the end: you’re digging for the ’26 regulations, but you don’t know if you’re digging in the right places,” he said. And in the end, people will start to see the greatest improvements when they start and drive the car for the first time.
Leave a Reply