Mercedes believes it has finally taken a step forward with its troublesome Formula 1 upgrade at the United States Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows hoped the introduction of a long-awaited upgrade package in Malaysia would further strengthen its W17 challenger, which has proven to be the benchmark car for much of the 2026 season.
But Mercedes instead took an unexpected step backwards in performance at Sepang, leaving the team confused. This prompted an unusual split-car strategy in Singapore, where Andrea Kimi Antonelli ran the upgrade and George Russell used the older-specification.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated both races, while Ferrari also outperformed Mercedes in those events.
Mercedes is determined to make the upgrade a success
Both Antonelli and Russell’s cars were fitted with the new upgrade at the United States Grand Prix, which is set to be a pivotal weekend for Mercedes with regards to its development approach and preparations for 2027.
The early signs were promising at Austin, with Antonelli bouncing back from a difficult opening practice session to end up just 0.042 seconds behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in FP2.
"Neither driver was very happy after FP1, talking about really struggling to get the car stopped and into the corners,” Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord told Sky Sports F1 after Friday practice.
"We made some changes over the break, and both of them came back in after the first run saying that the car was rotating and that they can get it through the corners without having to use the throttle too much and overheat the rear tyres.
”So, we made a decent step forward. Hopefully there’s a bit more to come overnight, but it looked a lot more solid at least.”
Antonelli was edged to the fastest time by Leclerc in FP2
Lord confirmed that Mercedes has made no changes to the package that initially debuted in Malaysia.
Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull were separated by just 0.198s in a tight second practice.
"We were looking at the overlays of the long runs and you’ve got to squint at it to really see too much difference between Leclerc, Verstappen, Kimi, Norris looks strong as well,” Lord added.
"So, it’s going to be a very close battle between all eight cars, I think.
"And similarly on the single lap, it’s a matter of a tenth or half a tenth here of there. It’s going to be really hard-fought and exciting."
Antonelli can clinch his first F1 world championship on Sunday.
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