Mercedes will run the same upgraded W17 specification on both George Russell’s and Kimi Antonelli’s cars at the 2026 United States Grand Prix, with Toto Wolff confirming that the team will continue its development programme despite the Italian driver’s opportunity to secure the Formula 1 world championship in Austin. The decision follows two difficult weekends in Malaysia and Singapore, where Mercedes struggled to extract the expected performance from its latest upgrades.
The Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia and the subsequent race at Marina Bay created more questions than answers for Mercedes. The upgrade package introduced in Kuala Lumpur and subsequently expanded in Singapore failed to work as intended, giving Max Verstappen the opportunity to claim two consecutive victories. Red Bull has undoubtedly made enormous progress, but Mercedes was also performing well below its usual level.
The atmosphere within the Mercedes camp is understandably far from ideal. The expected improvements have not materialised, although there is an awareness that the development work being undertaken is necessary with an eye on next season. Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal and co-owner, remains confident that the team has chosen the right direction.
Kimi Antonelli’s title opportunity will not slow Mercedes development
Mercedes is determined to return to winning ways. Although the team must continue experimenting with and studying its latest upgrade package, the objective remains to beat its rivals and reclaim its position at the top of the competitive order.
That ambition is particularly important with Kimi Antonelli approaching a potentially decisive weekend in the world championship. The Italian could mathematically secure the drivers’ title on Sunday, but doing so would require him to win the United States Grand Prix and hope for a particularly poor result from his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
However, the possibility of Kimi Antonelli achieving his championship dream will not interfere with Mercedes’ plans. The team remains fully focused on understanding its latest developments and identifying why the upgrades have failed to produce the anticipated performance.
“We’ve had two difficult weekends. The team has tried to make the most of the days off to understand the mistakes made between Malaysia and Singapore,” Toto Wolff explained through Mercedes’ official channels.
The situation adds another dimension to the competitive relationship between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with both drivers approaching the final stages of the championship under very different circumstances.
Toto Wolff confirms identical Mercedes upgrades for Austin
Mercedes has made an important decision for the United States Grand Prix: both W17 cars will use the latest evolution package. This represents a change from Singapore, where George Russell ran the older specification while Kimi Antonelli had the updated components.
“We will use the updates from our latest development package on both cars. We need to try to make progress if we want to get back to fighting for the leading positions,” Toto Wolff confirmed.
The decision underlines Mercedes’ determination to continue investigating the performance of its revised package rather than abandoning the developments after two disappointing weekends. It also means George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will have the same updated specification available as the team seeks to recover its competitiveness at the Circuit of The Americas.
The development challenge has become particularly significant after Mercedes struggled to deliver the expected improvements from its recent work on the W17. The team had already acknowledged that its upgrade programme was behind schedule despite the remaining potential of the car, making the Austin weekend another important opportunity to assess its technical direction.
Mercedes faces demanding Austin weekend with much at stake
Beyond the technical programme, Mercedes is preparing for a busy weekend in Texas, with several commitments away from the circuit as well as the competitive challenge on track.
“We have plenty of activities planned for the Texas weekend, including off-track events with AMG and the MANUFAKTUR event. It will be demanding, especially because there is so much at stake,” Toto Wolff added, referring to Kimi Antonelli’s first opportunity to become Formula 1 world champion.
Despite the importance of the occasion, the Mercedes team principal made it clear that the championship implications would not distract the team from its immediate objectives.
“We won’t get carried away by the excitement. The first objective is to perform well and maximise the car’s performance.”
For Mercedes, Austin therefore presents two closely connected challenges: giving Kimi Antonelli the best possible opportunity to move closer to the world championship while establishing whether the latest W17 upgrades can finally deliver the performance the team has been seeking.
With the same specification now set to be used by both drivers, the United States Grand Prix will provide another important test of Mercedes’ development direction as it attempts to return to the front of the Formula 1 field.
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