Kimi Antonelli has admitted Mercedes is still struggling to make its newer W17 package work after a difficult Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Formula 1 championship leader could manage only seventh place in Sprint Qualifying at Marina Bay, describing his car as “very difficult” and “very unpredictable” after Mercedes entrusted him with the package first introduced in Malaysia.
The main technical theme of Mercedes’ Singapore weekend has been the comparison between two specifications of the W17: the standard package used up to Baku and the newer version introduced at the previous round in Malaysia. So far, however, the verdict on the latter remains negative, creating a significant problem for Kimi Antonelli during a Singapore Sprint weekend with very limited practice time.
Kimi Antonelli struggles with Mercedes W17 package in Singapore
Mercedes gave the newer package to Kimi Antonelli, but his W17 proved difficult to drive from the opening free practice session. Sprint Qualifying then provided another, although still not definitive, indication that the team has yet to find the right operating window.
Kimi Antonelli went no higher than seventh, finishing seven tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen and around half a second behind Mercedes teammate George Russell, who qualified second.
Those are gaps that had not been seen between the Mercedes drivers during the season, particularly without car number 12 showing any obvious mechanical problem or another issue that could explain the difference. It represents an unusual situation for a driver who has established himself at the top of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship during an exceptionally strong 2026 campaign.
After the session that determined the starting grid for Saturday’s Sprint, Kimi Antonelli explained just how difficult the W17 had been to manage throughout Friday.
“I’ve been struggling since FP1, so yes, there is still a lot to understand about this package. The car is really very difficult, very unpredictable, and it is very complicated to put a lap together.”
“It’s a shame because I came here with high expectations, but so far everything has been very difficult.”
Mercedes still searching for answers with new W17 specification
Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes engineers will still have opportunities to work on the car during the remainder of the Singapore weekend. For now, however, completely reversing the situation and recovering the entire deficit seen against the leading drivers on Friday appears unlikely.
The difficulties are particularly notable given the level of performance the Mercedes W17 has demonstrated during the 2026 season. Singapore’s comparison between the older and newer specifications is therefore important not only for the immediate weekend but also for understanding whether the latest package can consistently deliver the intended performance.
“I think it’s going to be a difficult weekend unless we can pull something out tomorrow. Otherwise, everything is going to be very complicated.”
“I really don’t see where we can find seven tenths. But you never know. Maybe tonight, together with Bono, my engineer, we’ll manage to find something on the car.”
Kimi Antonelli also looking for improvements in his driving
The championship leader is not placing responsibility solely on the car. Kimi Antonelli also intends to examine his own driving in an effort to extract more performance before Saturday’s Sprint.
“I’ll definitely try to improve my driving a little as well, and then we’ll see. Tomorrow we’ll understand how far we’ve managed to get.”
The setback comes with Kimi Antonelli holding a substantial championship advantage over George Russell, whose title hopes had already been placed under significant pressure after the gap between the Mercedes teammates grew following Madrid. Singapore, however, has so far provided one of the clearest examples this season of George Russell holding a significant performance advantage over his teammate.
Mercedes now faces a crucial engineering task before the Sprint. The team needs to understand whether setup changes can make the newer package more predictable for Kimi Antonelli or whether the limitations seen on Friday are more fundamental to the specification currently fitted to his W17.
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