Mercedes has finally revealed its plan for a major upgrade to its F1 car. After falling behind in development, the Silver Arrows hope the update debuting at the Malaysian Grand Prix on October 2-4 will return them to pole position contention.
Among the top four teams, Mercedes is the only one without a significant upgrade for the 2026 season. Their last major update was introduced at the Canadian Grand Prix. Since then, performance has dropped: only four wins in the last eight races, while McLaren and Ferrari continue to pressure.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin, on the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show podcast, stated there are no major updates for the Azerbaijan GP this weekend. "We haven't got much new coming to Baku, but actually that's a circuit that's more about drag than downforce. The car was good in Monza, hopefully it will work well in Baku," he said.
Shovlin added that the Baku street circuit demands a unique balance between straight-line speed and low-speed cornering. "You need a car that can have a good straight line speed, but also handle the low speed like Monaco. We just focus on getting the most out of the car," he explained.
The eagerly awaited upgrade will arrive from Malaysia. Mercedes hopes to return to fighting for pole position, having failed to top qualifying in the last four rounds. Their last pole was at the Belgian GP with Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Since then, Lando Norris of McLaren and Pierre Gasly of Alpine have taken poles.
Shovlin admitted the competition is tighter than ever. "Early in the season, we tended to go thinking we have a car that if we do a really good job, it should be on pole. Now the margin between finishing first and sixth is one or two tenths. It's difficult to predict, but we just focus on getting the most out of the car and if we win, awesome," he concluded.
With this upgrade, Mercedes hopes to halt the dominance of McLaren and Ferrari and return to winning ways. The Malaysian race will be a true test for the Brackley-based team.
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