Deputy Technical Director Simone Resta has revealed Mercedes will bring a “sizeable” upgrade on the W17 after the Formula 1 summer shutdown.
11 rounds into the sport’s latest regulations cycle, the German marque has emerged as the runaway leaders.
Heading into the summer break, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers standings by a handsome margin of 50 points.
As far as the Constructors’ are concerned, Mercedes has stretched its legs over Ferrari with a 72 point advantage.
The Brackley-based squad had gotten its concept right from the get-go, adding a major upgrade package on the W17 at Canada, and following it with incremental revisions thereafter.
Resta has now revealed that the team has another “sizeable” upgrade package in the pipeline, ready for after the summer shutdown.
“Ultimately, I think we tried to have strong development for the first race from the winter test,” he said.
“Then we have had, at almost every race, a little step here and there, and then another big step in Canada.
“We always try to keep bringing little steps here and there at every race. Of course, we have seen teams bringing more stuff than us, which is great for them, and we are still trying to bring some items at every race.
“Probably, after the shutdown, we will try to focus on having something more sizeable on the car. So, we are clearly focused on trying to develop the car at every event, but also trying to think bigger by bringing another step to the car.”
Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry with Mercedes “makes the sport better” – Resta
With the exception of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and most recently Lando Norris, the Mercedes duo of Antonelli and George Russell have exclusively shared the P1 accolades, this season.
That said, while the Ferrari duo have only enjoyed a single win each, the SF-26 has been the closest competitor to Mercedes’ W17 on track, so far.
And strapped into the cockpit of the SF-26, Hamilton, who has won six Driver’s titles with Mercedes in the past, has been the most dominant thorn in Mercedes’ side.
But Resta believes the seven-time World Champion’s prowess, though at times concerning, is good for the competitive hunger of Mercedes and also “makes the sport better”.
“First of all, it’s great to see both drivers [Antonelli and George Russell] performing at a very good level,” Resta added.
“There have been some ups and downs in the various races, but fundamentally both of them have been very strong so far, with good performances.
“This is very good because it lifts the level between the two of them. This challenge within the team is always very important for the overall competitiveness of the team.
“That is what matters to us. It’s great to see Lewis fighting at the front.
“Lewis has had an incredible journey in Brackley, and the run is still very close to him emotionally.
“So it’s great to see him there. It’s great to see him fighting. It makes the sport better, so it’s nice to see.”
With Hamilton hunting Antonelli down for his eighth Driver’s title, the second-half of the 2026 season is becoming a tantalising prospect – kicking off with the Dutch GP, in late August.
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