Strategy
Mercedes holds major W17 upgrade for Malaysia round
Answer
ConfirmedMercedes will race its current W17 specification in Baku while saving the primary 2026 upgrade package for the Malaysian Grand Prix, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin confirmed.
Baku specification confirmed
Mercedes will compete at the Baku Grand Prix with its existing W17 specification. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin stated the team has little new hardware for the Azerbaijan round.[1][2]
Upgrade timeline
The primary development package arrives from the Malaysian Grand Prix onward. Shovlin noted the updates should deliver a decent step forward in performance.[1][3]
Outlook for Malaysia
The Sepang circuit hosts the Malaysian Grand Prix in early October. Mercedes expects the package to improve qualifying competitiveness without guaranteeing outright dominance.[2]
Related reading
Sources
- [1]Mercedes puts an end date on W17's development freeze (gpblog). Accessed 2026-09-26.
- [2]Mercedes F1 chief delivers terrible upgrade news for Ferrari and McLaren (gpfans). Accessed 2026-09-26.
- [3]Mercedes confirms W17 updates are coming in Bahrain (silverarrows). Accessed 2026-09-26.
Published 26 Sept 2026, 13:38 UTC