With the W17, Mercedes is taking a development path all its own—instead of a massive package, upgrades are being rolled out bit by bit every weekend
Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin has warned Silver Arrows fans: The Brackley-based team is feeling the hot breath of its resurgent rivals, Ferrari and Red Bull, on its neck more and more clearly in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
In the aftermath of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where George Russell limited the damage with a second-place finish while teammate Kimi Antonelli struggled with a loose wheel cover, Shovlin took stock. He particularly highlighted the performance leaps that rivals have achieved in recent Grands Prix.
“After Austria, we actually thought Red Bull would be damn fast. And Ferrari definitely looked strong, too. But first and foremost, we have to focus on ourselves. We need to make sure our processes are right and that we get the car reliably to the finish line,” Shovlin explains in the latest episode of the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.
Small Updates Instead of One Big Package
In stark contrast to other teams, some of which brought massive development packages to the track, Mercedes is taking a completely different approach with the current W17. Instead of rolling out a huge upgrade all at once, the team is relying on a continuous stream of smaller modifications at every single race weekend.
“We’re continuously adding performance to the car. We haven’t rolled out that one massive package like some of our competitors have. But right now, we’re trying to improve every week to stay ahead,” Shovlin continued.
“We consider ourselves lucky to have a car that performs well on a wide variety of track characteristics. Although, ‘lucky’ is probably the wrong word. I think we simply did a good job designing the car to make it competitive on any type of track.”
Preparation Is Key
“We put an enormous amount of preparation into each race weekend so that the car operates within the right performance window from the very first second and we can deliver. Most recently, we had Monaco and Austria on the calendar—tracks that have caused us real headaches in past years. It was great that we were able to turn things around there.”
However, our focus is already looking ahead: “Spa, though, is an extremely unique track that’s incredibly tricky, especially when it comes to energy management. We still have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to start the race perfectly tuned.”
The opportunity to do so comes this coming weekend: From July 17–19, the premier class will visit the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the tenth race of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix.