Wolff confirms Mercedes F1 upgrade for Sepang that has Verstappen wary
Mercedes has chosen to apply fewer upgrades than its main rivals so far this seaosn.
Toto Wolff has confirmed Mercedes will bring upgrades for the W17 to Malaysia after the team’s early-season dominance was blunted as rivals out-developed it.
Although Mercedes has won 11 of the 15 Grands Prix already held this season, the team had to share the spoils with Ferrari and McLaren at the start of the European swing.
Mercedes F1 upgrade confirmed by Toto Wolff as rivals close the gap
But while momentum has since returned to Mercedes, which has won three on the trot from the Italian Grand Prix to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Mercedes’ on-track advantage has been whittled down by its rivals.
The team has recorded just one 1-2 result since round two in China, while George Russell’s winning margin at the last race in Azerbaijan was a mere 0.196s over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Wolff said last month that Mercedes just didn’t have the money under the budget cap to respond to its rivals week in and week out.
“We haven’t got the money to put developments on the car,” he said. “I said it before that we are trying to evenly split that through the season based on our calculations of when we can bring the biggest updates and optimising the championship points.”
Having brought one big upgrade to the track in Montreal, Wolff has confirmed that the second will be introduced at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
“We are bringing an update package this weekend, and that is an important step for us,” said the Austrian.
“At the more representative circuits in recent races, we have not been where we want to be. Monza and Baku presented unique challenges, but on the more conventional tracks we have not been in the fight for pole position.
“We know that, and we are working hard to change it.
“The update is hopefully another step forward, but there are no guarantees in F1. The stopwatch is always the final judge.
“Our focus is on understanding the package quickly, executing the weekend well, and aiming to put ourselves in the fight at the front.”
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Mercedes’ upgrade plan already has the Brackley squad’s rivals wary.
After Russell spoke about in the post-race press conference in Baku, Verstappen conceded that it would make it even more difficult for Red Bull to achieve its first win of the season.
“Like George said, for Malaysia, if they’re bringing an upgrade, it’s going to look a little bit more difficult for us,” said the four-time F1 world champion.
Winning in Malaysia would be an added boost for Mercedes, whose long-time partner PETRONAS is Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company.
Mercedes will run a special PETRONAS-inspired livery at the race weekend.
“This weekend has extra significance for us because of our long-standing relationship with PETRONAS,” said Wolff.
“It’s fantastic to see Formula One returning to Sepang and we should also recognise the effort that has gone into making this Grand Prix happen. It has required strong collaboration between Malaysia and Bahrain, and that deserves credit.
“Once the cars are on track, though, our focus is on the job ahead.
“Sepang is a demanding circuit that asks every question of the car. You need performance in the high-speed corners, good traction, strong tyre management and consistency in hot, challenging conditions. It is one of the more complete tests on the calendar.”
Mercedes leads both championships with Kimi Antonelli 66 points ahead of George Russell in the Drivers’ standings, while the Brackley squad holds a 160-point advantage over Ferrari in the teams’ standings.
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