Andrea Kimi Antonelli believes Mercedes has made an important breakthrough in understanding its updated W17 aerodynamic package and will make significant set-up changes ahead of Singapore Grand Prix qualifying. After struggling badly on Friday, the championship leader says the team has identified how differently the new aerodynamics need to operate and why the car had been outside its optimal balance window.
The Italian started the Sprint from seventh while team-mate George Russell lined up on the front row, but eventually climbed to fourth. George Russell crashed into the barriers on the second lap, allowing Andrea Kimi Antonelli to extend his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship to 89 points.
George Russell openly admitted that he had made a serious mistake by applying the throttle too aggressively, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli also benefited from incidents ahead. The two McLaren drivers eliminated each other from contention on the penultimate lap when Lando Norris hit Oscar Piastri, helping the Mercedes driver move further up the order.
Antonelli learns how the new Mercedes W17 needs to work
The wet Sprint, run on a circuit that gradually dried, nevertheless provided Mercedes with valuable information. Andrea Kimi Antonelli now intends to make substantial changes to the set-up of his W17, which is fitted with the team’s latest aerodynamic package.
The Italian’s black-and-silver Mercedes is capable of producing more aerodynamic load than George Russell’s older specification, although it also generates more drag. In wet conditions, however, that additional resistance should not have represented such a major disadvantage.
“So far it hasn’t been an easy weekend, but yesterday after qualifying, when we analysed the data, we saw some interesting things,” Andrea Kimi Antonelli explained. “We saw that the way the aerodynamics work is very different from what we were used to, and with the balance we were outside the window, but we are confident we can make some changes for this afternoon.”
The comments represent a notable shift after the difficulties experienced with the updated Mercedes W17 during the opening part of the Singapore weekend. What initially appeared to be a potentially unsuccessful upgrade may instead be a package whose operating requirements are significantly different from those of the previous car specification.
Antonelli still sees potential despite unpredictable balance
Asked whether he remained pessimistic about the rest of the weekend or could now see reasons for optimism, Andrea Kimi Antonelli stressed that the car’s unpredictability had been the central problem.
“The balance has been complicated — actually, more than complicated, I would say unpredictable — but I think the package has potential. It’s just a matter of finding the right window to make it work properly.
“Now we’re going to make some fairly big set-up changes, and I’ll know from the first lap of qualifying whether I feel better in the car.”
Mercedes’ Friday data therefore appears to have provided some reassurance. While the new components initially seemed at risk of being rejected, the Brackley team believes the potential seen in the wind tunnel and simulator is genuinely present on the real car. The challenge is extracting it consistently.
That distinction has been central to Mercedes’ recent development programme, with Toto Wolff already acknowledging that the team believes there remains untapped potential in the W17 upgrades.
“I’ll try to do the best possible job with what I have, but the hope is to make a significant step forward,” Andrea Kimi Antonelli added.
Antonelli backs new Mercedes package while Russell chose older spec
The two Mercedes drivers have taken different paths during the Singapore weekend. George Russell requested a return to the older aerodynamic configuration, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli has chosen to continue working with the latest specification and give the team’s development programme another opportunity.
That makes the Italian’s qualifying set-up particularly important. Mercedes is trying to establish whether the new package is fundamentally difficult or whether its disappointing initial performance simply resulted from running outside the correct aerodynamic and mechanical window.
The challenge is especially significant during Singapore’s first Sprint weekend, where teams have considerably less practice time available to understand new parts and refine their cars. The compressed 2026 Singapore Grand Prix Sprint schedule gives engineers little opportunity to correct an unsuitable baseline before competitive sessions begin.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is nevertheless prepared to place his faith in Mercedes’ development work. The previous low-downforce package introduced at Spa-Francorchamps had also quickly fallen out of favour, increasing the importance of understanding whether the latest concept can provide a more useful long-term direction.
Singapore qualifying becomes crucial test for Mercedes upgrade
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s task now goes beyond simply improving his own qualifying result. The changes Mercedes makes before the session could provide an important indication of whether the team has finally understood how to unlock the updated W17.
If the car immediately feels more predictable, it would support the theory that the difficult opening sessions were caused primarily by an incorrect operating window rather than a fundamental weakness in the package itself. If the same balance problems persist, however, Mercedes will still have significant work to do to understand its latest aerodynamic direction.
For Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the answer should come quickly. As he put it himself, he expects to know from his first qualifying lap whether the large set-up changes have moved the W17 in the right direction.
The stakes are also considerable in the championship. With George Russell now 89 points behind following his Sprint retirement, Andrea Kimi Antonelli has strengthened his position at the top of the standings. But Singapore may prove just as important for Mercedes’ technical future as it is for the title battle, with the latest W17 package still needing to demonstrate that its theoretical aerodynamic gains can be turned into consistent performance on track.
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