Why Mercedes might cause headaches for Red Bull and McLaren in Austin

Most of the attention is focused on the front of the F1 World Championship, with Lando Norris trying to bridge a 52-point gap with Max Verstappen. In Singapore, Norris dominated proceedings but could only cut the gap by seven points because Verstappen was able to finish second. Lewis Hamilton and Russell didn't have strong pace at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and Ferrari made mistakes in Q3, meaning they couldn't help Norris by battling with Verstappen.

With a positive upgrade, Mercedes could be in the mix for the podium places and give Verstappen an extra challenge. It could also prevent Norris from scoring the required points.

Mercedes could cause Red Bull and McLaren headaches

"Obviously we reverted with the upgrades that we brought to Spa. So effectively we're making two steps now when we bring this upgrade. So we're hoping it's going to have quite an impact," Russell said in the paddock.

"But I hope, with the upgrade, we can be in the fight again at least in qualifying, fighting for those top four places. And then in the race, fighting for a podium. But realistically, we know McLaren and Lando are a good step ahead of everyone right now," Russell added before admitting the team have an eye on the 2025 season.

"These three weeks off have been great because it's allowed us all to take a step back, reassess the car as a whole, also looking into next year and we've definitely uncovered a few things that we want to be changing going into next year. And when you're in you know the midst of a season, you sometimes don't have that opportunity to really dig deep into the fundamentals of the car, so that's been really positive to see," Russell concluded.

Red Bull Racing and McLaren will introduce upgrades themselves, while Ferrari is also making changes to its car this weekend.

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