George Russell urges Mercedes to fix technical update issues
George Russell warns Mercedes must resolve technical update failures after recent struggles at the Sepang International Circuit. While Kimi Antonelli holds a 102-point lead, Max Verstappen has dominated recent races in Malaysia and Singapore, threatening the championship standings.
Mercedes struggles with updates
George Russell says Mercedes must "get on top of these updates" because only six race weekends remain this season. While Mercedes shared 11 Grand Prix victories and four Sprint Race victories between Russell and Kimi Antonelli for much of 2026, Red Bull has become a threat since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mercedes introduced upgrades for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that failed at the Sepang International Circuit, forcing Russell to revert to the previous specification in Singapore while Antonelli used the new parts. I find the team’s technical struggle embarrassing because Verstappen won the last two weekends in Malaysia and Singapore after finishing second in Baku. Russell won at Baku, but he now faces a driver who has finished on the podium in seven of the last eight Grands Prix. Russell told Sky Sports that he was at a similar level to Verstappen in Baku, but the Dutch driver has dominated the last two races in Malaysia and Singapore on totally different tracks.
Fan poll predictions
RacingNews365 fans predict Verstappen will finish as the runner-up in the Drivers’ championship ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The 20-year-old Antonelli holds a 102-point cushion over Russell and could clinch the title at the next race in the United States if he takes the chequered flag and Russell finishes no higher than ninth. This Italian driver could potentially gain another 150 points if the calendar finishes in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. In a poll regarding the final standings, Verstappen received 60.5 per cent of the vote, Hamilton took 21.2 per cent, Russell earned under 12 per cent, and Leclerc collected over 6 per cent. Lando Norris received just one vote from the fans. I find that the current points gap between the Mercedes drivers and the Red Bull driver is very narrow because Russell leads Hamilton by nine points and Verstappen by 17 points. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris remain in the hunt as they sit 23 and 37 points behind Russell respectively. Verstappen won both the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix, so I agree with the poll.
