Sports · Motorsport · 1 day ago
Antonelli says Mercedes upgrade is more predictable after Singapore changes
Mercedes brought revised floor and sidepod parts to the Singapore Grand Prix, but only Kimi Antonelli used them while George Russell drove the older version.
The team split the cars to compare the upgrade with the previous setup.
Antonelli initially found the new car difficult and unpredictable, with a narrow range of settings that worked well.
After major setup changes, he said the car felt more stable and the team was beginning to understand what the upgrade could do.
He improved through qualifying and took fourth place, 0.189 seconds behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
Russell was quicker earlier in the weekend, but crashed in the sprint race and said Mercedes was still not satisfied with the new package.
The team says it needs more time and setup adjustments to find a fast, reliable way to use the upgrade.
Kimi Antonelli said Mercedes’ upgraded W17 was more predictable after the team changed its set-up at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Italian said the car still had a narrow operating window, but Mercedes was beginning to understand the new package.
Antonelli qualified fourth, 0.189 seconds behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
Mercedes split its upgrades between its cars, with Antonelli using revised floor and sidepods while George Russell used the old specification.
Russell said the team was still dissatisfied with the package and needed more time to make it work.
- Who
- Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes.
- What
- Antonelli said the upgraded W17 was working better after set-up changes, though its operating window remained narrow.
- When
- At the Singapore Grand Prix; the article was published on 10 October 2026.
- Where
- Singapore.
- Why
- Mercedes changed the car’s set-up to make it more stable and understand how the new package performs.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
We start seeing what the package can give to us.
But the car just seemed to work in a better way.
As a team we're still not satisfied with where we are with the new package.
Antonelli described the upgraded W17 as very difficult and unpredictable after sprint qualifying.
Antonelli improved by two seconds in qualifying and secured fourth place.
- Upgrade
- Revised floor and sidepods on Antonelli’s W17
- Qualifying
- Antonelli fourth, 0.189 seconds behind Max Verstappen
- Set-up
- Mercedes made a major change and put the car in a more stable place
- Russell
- Used the old specification in Singapore
- Publication
- 10 October 2026
Sources
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