Mercedes drops latest verdict on troublesome F1 upgrade after crunch US GP test

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. 

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.”

Lord confirmed that Mercedes has made no changes to the package that initially debuted in Malaysia. 

"Ultimately, it's been an encouraging day for us given the progress we've taken with the update package," said Antonelli. 

"We made some good inroads in Singapore, and it is pleasing to see that continue here with both myself and George on the same specification. There is still more for us to do to ensure we're getting the car in the right window consistently and that will be a focus for us heading into FP3."

Russell added: "It's been a useful day for us on track as we continue to build our knowledge around our update package. 

"Whilst the car wasn't in a great place in FP1, we made some good improvements for FP2 and definitely moved the car in the right direction. There is still more work to do though, particularly given how strong some of the other teams looked today. 

"I didn't get the most out of the single-lap running either; I lost one lap to track limits and then had a big moment in sector one on the next, so there was more performance there. We'll work hard overnight and see what we can find ahead of tomorrow." 

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 said. 

"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."