Mercedes is introducing a comprehensive upgrade package for the Montreal weekend, featuring significant aerodynamic developments alongside targeted mechanical and software revisions designed to fix their poor race starts. Among the updates is a bespoke hardware change specifically for Kimi Antonelli.
The technical push comes after Mercedes held back the bulk of their new components while rival teams introduced major upgrades at the previous round in Miami.
Antonelli Gets Bespoke Clutch Hardware to Fix Launch Deficit
A primary focus for the team heading into the weekend is correcting a distinct performance deficit at lights out. To assist Antonelli, Mercedes has engineered a re-shaped physical interface for his steering wheel, alongside deeper systemic optimization.
“This weekend, obviously, we’re bringing a lot of new things in the car, and definitely also there are a few bits about the starts,” Antonelli said on Thursday.
“We have a new clutch paddle on my side, just a different shape, just to help me to be a bit more consistent with the drops, and of course, the team has been working very hard on the software side as well, and also on the clutch side, just to try and find more performance, and also made the system a bit more robust.
“For sure, there’s been a lot of work going on, because, for example, McLaren, they have the same PU as us, and they’re starting very well, so there’s definitely something that we’re missing.
“But this weekend we are bringing a lot of changes, and we’ll see already from [Friday] if it’s going to be better or not.”
Russell Warns of Medium-Term Battles with Limited Practice Opportunities
George Russell echoed his teammate’s concerns regarding the start-line deficit, acknowledging that while immediate measures are being taken, a permanent fix will require a longer developmental timeline due to the inherent difficulty of replicating real-world race starts.
“Well, obviously the starts are a big focus for us because that’s clearly our biggest weak point,” said the Englishman. “We know short-term is going to be difficult to make major gains, and we’re obviously trying as hard as we can to solve it short-term.
“But there are also some medium-term items that we need to make changes to and continue to improve.
“And, of course, race starts, we don’t get to practice very often. You can’t practice it on the simulator, really. Some races you cannot even practice in free practice the race starts. So, we’ll keep trying our best to improve.”
Lighter, More Agile Cars Set to Excel in Montreal Chicanes
Despite the underlying anxieties surrounding their launch performance, the characteristics of the nimble 2026 technical regulations have Antonelli highly optimistic about the physical driving experience around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“This track usually offers decent racing,” he said. “So obviously this year the racing has seen a lot more overtakes, a lot more action, so I think it can be the same here. Of course, it might not be as easy as, for example, Miami, because Miami is a bit wider, you have a bit more opportunity to make moves.
“But I think it’s still going to offer a lot of good action, and I think it’s going to be even more fun. I think driving the car around here, obviously, it’s a type of track where you have a lot of change of direction, not a lot of high-speed corners.
“So with the characteristic of this year’s car, I think it’s going to be more fun to drive, because the car is smaller, it’s lighter, it’s more agile, so it’s going to be much more reactive as well in the change of direction, so I think it’s going to be very interesting to see, but I think it’s going to be fun weekend.”
The Fuel vs. Battery Crisis: FIA Imposes Emergency 6MJ Limit
Yet the specter of the huge hybrid deficiencies hangs over the paddock in Montreal. The FIA has slashed the maximum recharging allowance for the batteries to the second-lowest level of the season at just 6MJ. Only Monza will receive a smaller allowance of 5.5MJ as the FIA attempts to prevent teams and drivers from attempting extreme measures to harvest energy.
One of the problems the teams face is the polar nature of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve track. The first half is typified by plenty of corners and short straights, where energy recovery is available in abundance. Then the second half, including the run to the hairpin, the back straight, the chicane, and the start-finish line, is energy starved.
The challenge will be to find a solution to avoid using most of the 6MJ in the first half of the lap, ensuring the drivers have some electrical power available for the long back straight and to accelerate out of the final chicane.
This weekend will be the biggest challenge to date for the much-criticized all-new hybrid power units for 2026, and expectations are that there will be more of the horror show, where racing is secondary and energy management is at the fore.
Paddock Politics Intensify as Audi Blocks 2027 Engine Hardware Fixes
This weekend will also host a critical meeting between the FIA and the manufacturers, where F1’s governing body will attempt to enforce changes to the power unit hardware for 2027. It is almost universally agreed that the internal combustion engine must be beefed up—and along with that, the fuel flow increased—while the hybrid element needs turning down to improve the racing for next year.
It appears that Audi is dragging its feet over this as once again they place their road car marketing ahead of the needs of F1 to return to proper racing. Lando Norris summed matters up concisely after the tweaks agreed upon for the Miami Grand Prix: “Honestly, I don’t really think you can fix that. You just have to get rid of the battery. So hopefully in a few years, that’s the case.”
Whether Audi remains in F1 or not—few care—but one thing is certain. From 2031, the F1 power units will be V8 in their architecture and with “very, very little electrification,” declared the FIA President at the Miami Grand Prix.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff appeared to challenge this view with his proposed 1,200 horsepower “mega engine,” where 800 bhp came from the internal combustion engine and 400 bhp from a battery.
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