Ominous Mercedes upgrade causing unease amongst rival F1 teams

Mercedes underlined once again at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that its rivals have still not managed to properly close the gap to the W17, despite minimal development on the car throughout the season so far.

That is even more significant when considering the power unit has run in its original specification all year, without the benefit of the ADUO 1 upgrade route granted by the FIA.

But the picture is about to change. For the Bahrain Grand Prix, held this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, the W17 will carry a significant aerodynamic upgrade.

It is an evolution that is understood to be causing some unease among rival teams, not so much because of the scale of the package itself, but because of what it could mean for Mercedes' advantage over the field, particularly with a power unit upgrade still to come.

More load, more consistency

Sources close to the project indicate that the W17 upgrade is designed to generate more load through the car's bodywork, making the car even more competitive through the corners than it already is on the straights.

Through the season, it has become clear just how much the power unit's performance has allowed the W17 to dominate the fastest sections of a lap without any real resistance, especially long straights, as Baku confirmed once again thanks to near-flawless energy management.

At the start of the year, the W17 was dominant almost everywhere. But as the European rounds arrived, it became apparent that twisty circuits with a high number of slow corners represented the car's least favourable conditions.

In those sectors, the benchmark car was the Ferrari SF-26.

That shift in the competitive picture through the season persuaded Mercedes' technical team at Brackley against making major changes to the car, in order not to upset its overall balance.

The decision to debut the planned upgrade at Sepang is instead intended to lay the groundwork for next year's car.

The changes, concentrated mainly around the floor, the sidepod shaping and the wing elements, are aimed primarily at increasing load generated from the floor, without compromising the W17's efficiency on the straights.

Anticipation among rival engineers to see the scale of the Sepang package is high.

The details will start to emerge from Friday.