Toto Wolff: Here’s what happens next following problems with the Mercedes F1 upgrade

Mercedes had introduced a major upgrade package to the car last week in Sepang. It was the first major set of changes since May. The problem was that the upgrade didn’t work well at all during the first race weekend; team principal Toto Wolff had all but written the package off after qualifying at Sepang.

Mercedes: Mixed results in Singapore – and what about Austin?

However, it doesn’t seem to be quite as bad as that; they’re apparently slowly getting to grips with the new parts. After the drivers were given different cars in Singapore (George Russell drove the old car, Kimi Antonelli the upgraded one), the team has now apparently decided to stick with the upgrade – as things stand after the race.

Wolff explained immediately after the Singapore Grand Prix: “When we started the weekend, we took a step that is highly unusual for the industry and fielded two different cars, because we felt we needed to accelerate our learning curve. And that was the right thing to do.”

Wolff: New car with a different philosophy

Wolff noted: “Looking back at the race now, I think this new car requires a completely different set-up philosophy to the previous one. That’s what we’re learning at the moment.”

A glance at the standings might suggest that the new package is clearly better: Kimi Antonelli finished third in it, whilst George Russell managed only ninth in the old car. However, this is misleading, as Russell had to serve an engine penalty and was demoted to 21st on the grid (and crashed in the sprint). The insights are based on data, not just the finishing positions.

Topic of the week

A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Live

Austin: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

23.10.2026 - 19:25

Wolff on the Mercedes upgrade

Wolff’s interim assessment after Singapore (which was a sprint weekend and therefore offered only limited opportunities to learn): “Is it a simple car like the previous one? I don’t think so. Does it have the performance we’d hoped for from the upgrade? I don’t think so yet, but it was a step in the right direction. In Austin, we’ll see if we can build on that and whether it actually delivers more performance, as that will be crucial for the direction of development next year.”

Looking ahead to the race in the US in just under two weeks’ time, Wolff said: “As things stand, we’ll probably want to use the new version in Austin. The drivers believe it should have a positive effect or be an advantage in Austin, and I think, in terms of what we can learn for next year, that’s also the right approach.”

Wolff emphasised, however, that at the time of his media briefing he had not yet attended all the debriefs with the engineers. Wolff on Sunday: “I’m saying this before the experts sit down tomorrow and the day after to clarify whether this is actually the direction we want to take.” So it remains to be seen – but Wolff certainly sounds more positive than he did in Sepang.