George Russell has stated that Red Bull is now ‘the team to beat’ in Formula 1. This assessment follows Max Verstappen’s second consecutive Grand Prix victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, which concluded on Sunday, October 11, 2026.
Verstappen secured his first win at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, dominating from pole position. His Singapore triumph also marked his 250th career start in Formula 1.
The Dutch driver’s success in Singapore was preceded by a sprint race victory on the same circuit on Saturday, October 10, 2026. This triple success began with his first Grand Prix victory of the 2026 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia the previous weekend.
At the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen finished 7.3 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, who secured second place for Ferrari. Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes completed the podium in third position.
Russell, who drives for Mercedes, finished ninth in Singapore after starting 19th due to an engine penalty. He had also crashed out of the sprint race early on.
Mercedes has experienced a strong start to the 2026 season, with Antonelli currently leading the drivers’ championship. The Italian driver holds a comfortable margin in the constructors’ standings for the German manufacturer.
Antonelli’s third-place finish in Singapore means he can mathematically clinch the 2026 drivers’ title at the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin. He currently leads Russell by 102 points with six races remaining in the season.
Russell believes Verstappen’s performance across the last three rounds indicates that Red Bull has surpassed Mercedes as the leading team on the grid. He highlighted Red Bull’s impressive performance on three distinct circuits.
‘I think the main thing for us as a team is to try and understand how we’re going to find more performance because the performance of Red Bull has been very impressive the last three weeks on three very different circuits and you know right now they are the team to beat,’ Russell stated.
Russell also noted that the team’s current upgrade package, which Antonelli utilized, is performing as expected in terms of data, but the lap times have not been optimal. Mercedes is focused on understanding how to extract more performance from this package.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also acknowledged Red Bull’s significant improvement during the latter half of the year. Wolff views Red Bull as a serious title contender for the 2027 season.
Red Bull introduced a substantial upgrade package in Baku, Azerbaijan, approximately ten days before the Bahrain Grand Prix. This package included a new floor body, diffuser, sidepods, cooling louvres, mirrors, and a halo fairing.
Oscar Piastri of McLaren described Red Bull as the new ‘class of the field’ following these updates, noting their clear impact on performance. The upgrades were designed to improve local load and driver control.
Red Bull’s power unit, developed in partnership with Ford, has also shown considerable progress, particularly in straight-line speed. This addressed a previous high-speed weakness for the team.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held on October 4, 2026, was a rain-delayed and chaotic event. Verstappen converted pole position into victory, with Antonelli finishing second and Lewis Hamilton recovering to third.
Russell retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix from third place due to a power-unit failure. Mercedes’ own major car changes, including altered bodywork and floor adjustments, were introduced at this event.
These Mercedes upgrades did not immediately deliver the anticipated performance boost. Wolff indicated that while three tenths of improvement were expected, the W17 appeared three to five tenths slower, exhibiting drag on straights and understeer.
Antonelli ran a new front wing in Singapore, intended to complement the upgrade package, as Mercedes seeks to find the optimal performance window. Russell, conversely, reverted to an older specification package for the Singapore event.
Wolff has previously stated that Max Verstappen is ‘the most exceptional driver of this generation,’ but emphasized the necessity of having the best car and engine for a championship challenge. He also confirmed that George Russell’s contract renewal for the 2027 season was agreed before Verstappen’s decision to remain with Red Bull was publicly announced.
