Threat to the competition: Kimi Antonelli reveals quantum leap of 0.3 seconds with new Mercedes improvements

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has revealed the team's impressive expectations for the new extensive package of improvements that will debut this weekend. The updated W17 car makes its debut at the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, held at the iconic „Sepang“ circuit in Malaysia - a track that became the host of the event after geopolitical events in the Middle East prevented it from being held at „Sahir“.

This is only the second major aerodynamic package for the „Silver Arrows“ in the season and the first serious leap forward since the fifth round in Canada in May. According to the engineering team, some of the innovations will also lay the foundations for the car concept for 2027.

Technical superiority and aerodynamic downforce

The modified W17 features a new floor, redesigned radiator boxes and new aerodynamic elements on the wings. The aim is to generate significantly higher downforce in the slow and medium-speed corners - an area where the Ferrari team has been the benchmark until now - without this negatively affecting the maximum speed on the straights.

In front of the newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport Antonelli confirmed the data from the simulations that were frightening for the rivals:

„I tested the new features in the simulator, but it will be really interesting to see how the car reacts on the track itself. The engineers assured us that this is a quantum leap of about three tenths of a second - a value fully consistent with a serious package that aims to completely improve the car. The first practice sessions are extremely important to assess the real effect of the changes and to set the car up in terms of ride height.“

Awesome form after triumph in Azerbaijan

A possible additional acceleration of 0.3 seconds per lap sounds disconcerting for the competitors, especially after George Russell's dominance in the previous round in Baku. On the Azerbaijani street circuit, the Briton grabbed pole position with a difference of 0.837 seconds over Charles Leclerc – the biggest advance in qualifying since 2023, after which he also took the victory ahead of Max Verstappen.

With this success, the German giant's statistics in 2026 swelled to an absolute 11 victories and 11 first starting positions from 15 races.