George Russell has played down an alleged new advantage to Mercedes’ W17 challenger, which the team has backpeddled on after talks with the FIA.
The Silver Arrows made changes to their 2026 car after the Chinese Grand Prix, following discussions with the FIA. The team have brought a new front wing to Suzuka.
Shanghai was another stellar weekend for Mercedes, taking home their second 1-2 of the season and bringing Kimi Antonelli to his maiden victory.
However, after the race, questions were raised regarding the front wing. With the active aero systems, the wing was running as normal down the straights.
As the Mercedes entered the corners, it was initially outside the acceptable level under braking before returning to an acceptable level.
This left rivals questioning whether the wing was outside the regulations, which define the transition time between the two modes as no longer than 0.4 seconds.
Russell claimed the wing was a ‘problem’
After the weekend, the FIA spoke with Mercedes, which prompted them to bring a new front wing to Japan. However, Mercedes claims the problems with the wing stemmed from reliability issues rather than performance.
“It was not intentional, and it’s not an advantage for sure,” George Russell explained at media day to Motorsport Week and other media, “It’s actually a problem, so something we’re trying to solve.
“It isn’t a straightforward solution, but there’s definitely no advantage to that.”
Russell went on to note that it almost cost Antonelli his maiden victory.
“When we brake it is still open. Obviously, Kimi had the lock-up. I think this was a contribution to the front wing. It’s definitely not intentional.”
Russell chose not to explain more, saying, “No, because I don’t actually know, to be honest.
“It’s very challenging for the front wing. If you compare with the rear wing, when it starts to close, you have the wind to help the rear wing close. The front wing has to battle against the wind, and you need a lot of pressure.
“I don’t know if we don’t have enough, but it isn’t easy to bring the wing up when you are driving at 300 on the straight.”
It continues to add to the criticism the Brackley team have faced since the 2026 season began. Initially, it was their engine that drew criticism and questions, as it offered a compression-ratio advantage.
The team have until June 1st to comply with the FIA’s technical checks.
Until then, the Silver Arrows seem unbeatable, with victories in each race so far, and are looking to repeat that pattern in the Japanese GP this weekend. Already, the team put their best foot forward, taking a 1-2 in FP1 and 2-3 in FP2.
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