Here’s a look at Mercedes‘ radical W17 upgrade package at Sepang, plus the other updates teams have brought to the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The German marque has proved to be the runaway leader of F1’s latest era, 15 rounds into the season.
But despite its dominance, Mercedes arrives at the Sepang International Circuit with an aggressive W17 upgrade package that might finally put the team out of reach of its F1 rivals.
The majority of the alterations can be seen towards the rear of the car. The Brackley-based team has focused on increasing its overall downforce without incurring a penalty on drag.
This has resulted in an aggressive upward ramp that aims to condition airflow towards the rear axle of the car.
Complementing the new bodywork are reprofiled suspension fairings and repositioned rear-drum winglets designed to work in tandem and improve its overall downforce efficiency.
Mercedes has also brought a substantially reworked floor to Sepang. The W17 will sport a completely redesigned floor board, floor edge, floor corner and floor body – all aimed towards increased “local load and improved robustness throughout the operating envelope”.
Elsewhere in the top four, the likes of McLaren have focused on cooling and only brought a circuit-specific engine cover to combat the sweltering climate of Malaysia.
Further, Red Bull will sport a tweaked version of its existing floor at Sepang. Alterations have been made to the outer extremities at the front of the floor area, aimed at improving air flow stability behind the front tyres.
Ferrari has also brought a solitary upgrade for its SF-26. An iterative alteration to its diffuser, hopes the Scuderia, will allow it to achieve “additional downforce” across its operating window.
The midfield development battle stalls at Sepang
Only three teams in the midfield have opted to bring alterations to its packages for the race weekend.
Racing Bulls currently owns the moniker of ‘best of the rest’ with a firm grip on P5 in the Constructors’. For Sepang, the Faenza-based squad will sport revisions on its front and rear-wings.
Their closest rivals on track, Alpine, have decided to make only minor changes to its front corner, around the brake drum, for cooling purposes.
Haas, on the other hand, have brought a ‘standby’ upgrade package for the race weekend at Sepang.
Its disclosures to the FIA state that a revised rear impact structure will be “available on track, enabling targeted tuning of the car’s characteristics for this circuit.”
Williams, Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac have brought no upgrades this weekend.
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