Mercedes makes upgrade decision for Austin after Singapore split

Toto Wolff has revealed both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will run Mercedes’ most recent upgrade package at the United States Grand Prix.

After the team’s latest updates were introduced at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Russell opted to revert to the team’s previous specification in Singapore over doubts about its performance improvement.

Mercedes upgrade decision revealed ahead of United States GP

Wolff said after the chequered flag at Marina Bay that there was now enough data to provide Mercedes with an overall picture over its updates, with the wet weekend in Malaysia having limited its dry running.

He also confirmed in Singapore that it was likely that both drivers would be running the updates, with both Russell and Antonelli agreeing there should be a benefit in doing so.

“I think that this new car needs a very different setup philosophy than the previous car, and this is what we’re learning at the moment,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media.

“Does it have the performance that we were hoping the upgrade would bring? I don’t think so yet, but it was a step in the right direction, and in Austin, we shall see whether we can continue to consolidate that, and whether in effect it has more performance because it’s crucial for the development direction for next year.”

Russell had previously expressed his own reservations in Singapore about whether or not the new specification of car was quicker than beforehand, but Wolff has now officially confirmed both drivers would be carrying the W17’s updated parts at the Circuit of The Americas.

“Malaysia and Singapore were difficult weekends for us and we have worked hard to understand where we fell short,” Wolff said ahead of the weekend.

“Austin gives us an opportunity to respond. We will run our latest update package on both cars as we continue to develop the car.

“The field is incredibly close, so we need to keep moving forward if we want to fight consistently at the front in the closing stages of the season.

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“The United States Grand Prix begins another demanding triple-header. There is plenty at stake, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves.

“The priority is the weekend in front of us: execute well, maximise our performance and take each race as it comes.

“Austin will also be an important weekend for us off track, with a number of commercial activities taking place across the city.”

Antonelli heads into the weekend knowing that, for the first time, he has a possibility of becoming Drivers’ Champion for 2026.

He would need results to go in his favour, but knows a 125-point lead at the chequered flag would be enough to make him the youngest ever World Champion.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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