Mercedes launches W17 upgrade review as new behaviour emerges

SEPANG – Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said it is time to put heads together, delve into the data and find a “solution” to bring the W17 back on form.

Mercedes brought an upgraded car to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but qualifying was a story of Max Verstappen dominance. Kimi Antonelli was forced to settle for fourth. Wolff revealed that the team observed behaviour from its W17 not seen before this season.

Upgraded Mercedes W17 throws up new challenges

The Silver Arrows brought various aerodynamic revisions to Sepang, but the results are yet to follow.

Verstappen controlled qualifying, claiming his first pole position of the season.

Mercedes‘ championship leader Antonelli was half a second off the Dutchman’s pace. A grid penalty for Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar boosts Antonelli one place on the grid to third.

George Russell qualified eighth, and will start seventh.

“Very difficult to understand,” Wolff told Sky F1 of the upgraded W17’s sudden off-colour performance.

“We have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour that we didn’t see all year.

“But then you can say it’s very hot and the tarmac is very different to all the tracks.

“Looked really good in the morning. We seem to have at least with Kimi made a step in understanding, and then qualifying was a little bit back to what we saw before. Just no performance.”

Expanding on that new behaviour from the W17, Wolff added: “It looks like we are very draggy because it’s the first time that we’re losing a lot of time on the straights, to especially Max.

“And then through the low speed, Turn 2, we are not able to turn the car. There is just too much understeer. So overall, things we haven’t seen all year.”

Antonelli had topped the final practice session from Verstappen by almost three tenths, albeit with the luxury of a new soft tyre push.

Wolff was therefore asked whether rivals were sandbagging ahead of qualifying, or if there is more to the surprise slump.

The Austrian very much pointed to the later, as a Mercedes investigation looms.

“Something else is going on, and we have to understand,” Wolff stated. “This is now working through the data and putting our heads together, because we still believe that the upgrade works.

“We just need to understand why not here.

“You’re expecting three tenths to kick in, and it looks like three or four or five tenths backwards. First time we miss out on the top three, by quite a chunk. Odd. But I guess we will find a solution.”

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Looking ahead to race day, Wolff is uncertain whether his team can suddenly return to form over a Grand Prix distance.

He reiterated that the priority for now is working out where the W17 went wrong in qualifying.

“I’m never positive,” said Wolff when asked if he is more optimistic about race pace. “Even if he would have put it on pole by five tenths, I wouldn’t have been exuberant for tomorrow.

“I don’t know at all what to expect tomorrow from the race with the heat. It could be better. It could be worse. This is now about understanding what the car is doing.”

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