Max Verstappen live reaction as Russell reveals Mercedes upgrade plan

George Russell dropped the bombshell that Mercedes has upgrades coming and hopes to make “a good step forward” starting from this week’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Russell made that reveal following his impressive return to winning ways in Baku. Sat alongside the Mercedes driver, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen gave his immediate thoughts, pointing out that if the Silver Arrows do take a step forward, then picking up a first win of F1 2026 is about to become “even more difficult” for Red Bull.

Max Verstappen reacts to Mercedes upgrade reveal

Russell produced arguably his most dominant Formula 1 performance yet with a lights-to-flag victory in Baku.

His winning margin may have been just 0.1s, but that was triggered by a lack of boost, as Russell and Verstappen passed the crashed Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, through Turn 15 ahead of the run to the line.

Next up for a rejuvenated Russell is Malaysia, which is hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I’m really excited. We’ve got the upgrades coming soon. That’s going to be a good step forward,” Russell ominously declared in the post-Azerbaijan Grand Prix press conference.

His team had previously teased a new package coming after the summer break. Sepang has emerged as the destination.

Mercedes has been notably quiet in the fierce F1 2026 development war.

Russell is also expecting the ADUO-upgraded Mercedes engine at some stage, which will trigger a grid penalty once he takes it.

“Our car has been working exceptionally well on the low-drag circuits, we’ve got a really efficient car. So here, in Monza, we’ve been exceptionally fast,” Russell continued.

“But I think from next week onwards, we’re hoping to make a bigger step to the rest of the field.

“But nothing’s sure until we see how it pans out in reality.”

After that big news was dropped, the floor was Verstappen’s in the press conference.

He would pivot his Baku verdict to address Russell’s comments from moments prior, a rare live driver reaction to a rivals’ upgrade bombshell.

“The car was feeling very good all weekend,” the Dutchman stated. “Okay, then we had the issue in qualifying with the engine.

“We still, of course, have some limitations with the car that I’ve mentioned many times that probably are not fixable for this year. So we know that for next year that needs a lot of work.

“But the balance in the car was strong.

“But like George said, for Malaysia, if they’re bringing an upgrade, it’s going to look a little bit more difficult for us.”

Asked if he sees any upcoming circuits where the RB22 can be this competitive again, the four-time world champion added: “We won’t know. I mean, if Mercedes is bringing an upgrade and it works, then they take a step ahead, then that’s not what you want. It will make it even more difficult to win!

“But we’ll try every single weekend, and of course, if the opportunity is there, we go for it.”

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Verstappen noted that Baku is a “unique track” with its “90-degree corners” in plentiful supply, “but it felt probably a little bit more together balance-wise.

“But like I said, we have other issues in the car that we really need to fix because there is also just free lap time in that, and that’s what we’re working on.

“But from the performance items, they worked well, and we’ve been fairly happy all weekend, really, with what I had from the car.”

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