Mercedes asserts it will apply upgrades to 2021 W12 car

Mercedes is set to add upgrades to its 2021 Formula 1 car amid its title battle with Red Bull, despite the heavy resources it is applying to its 2022 challenger.

Next year’s cars are being constructed under a fresh set of technical regulations, which aims for closer competition at the front of the grid.

Much of the focus across the current field is on the 2022 cars, however Red Bull is continuing to upgrade its RB16B as it chases its first title since 2013.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stated after the Styrian Grand Prix that Mercedes won’t sacrifice its 2022 car by concentrating on this year’s effort.

However the team’s soon-to-be Chief Technical Officer James Allison asserted that some upgrades are in the pipeline.

“We have reasonable number of things that are going to make our car faster in the coming races,” he told the F1 Nation podcast. “Let’s hope they prove sufficient.

“What Toto points out is that next year’s rules are a big and hairy affair and they demand a huge amount of our attention. 

“So most of the focus of our factory has switched over to the performance discovery for next year, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things still in the food chain from prior to that focus switch.

“Furthermore it isn’t all of the factory. We [Brackley] are only one of two factories, there’s also the power unit factory [at Brixworth] and there is a little bit more to come from the power unit. 

“So there’s some more aerodynamic change in the offing, a little bit of power unit, we hope, on the delivery side and just a few things that are not quite as tidy as we would wish that we still have an opportunity to put right while this season is still very much alive and hot.”

Mercedes currently sits second in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing Red Bull by 40 points.