2026 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

[BassVirolla]

https://i.postimg.cc/3RnRyVHL/20260509-220050.jpg

It's honestly pretty insane how big and important Italy has been in motorsports and F1 in general, and had so very little to show for it on the driver front in F1.

That said, Kimi has a massive advantage here given just how many races there are nowadays, so his ability to rack up win stats is going to be much easier. Still, overall picture-wise, Italian drivers really have never done all that much in F1.

If somehow he gets the WDC, he will be the first italian since Ascari.

[Lasssept]

[Lasssept]

Nugnes | Motorsport Italy

Mercedes: Major Upgrade Package in Canada Goes Beyond Aerodynamics

The championship-leading team wants to reaffirm its technical superiority with a series of updates in Montreal. These will include not only wind-tunnel development, but also significant weight reduction to reach the minimum limit and improved start performance. The aim is to strengthen their dominance early in the 2026 season.
...
The work in the wind tunnel is expected to deliver around three-tenths of a second. The changes start with the front wing: the new flow concept also defines the design of the carbon-fibre covers on the front suspension and, consequently, the underbody.

But Mercedes has also worked hard on two other key areas: weight reduction and improved starts — a real “black hole” in the W17’s performance that forces the drivers to recover positions after slow getaways, which are not always due to driver error.

As for the weight-saving programme, the team is introducing a lighter gearbox casing and other details that should bring the Brackley-built car closer to the minimum weight limit, with the hope of soon being able to add ballast — a useful tool for easier balance adjustment.

As for the starts, the electronics engineers are working to reduce the impact of the large turbo. It should be noted that in this specific area, McLaren has found solutions that appear more effective than those of Mercedes, despite using the same power unit.

[OverheatedTurbo]

Just 3 tenths for a large package????? That seems low…but I don’t know anything.

[Matt2725]

Make or break for Russell in Canada I reckon.

[HungarianRacer]

Just 3 tenths for a large package????? That seems low…but I don’t know anything.

I read it as 3 tenths from the aero modifications alone plus (or minus, depending how you wanna look at it) an unspecified amount from the weight reduction measures.

... But it's Nugnes, so I don't put too much stock into this information to start with...

[Rootsap]

Just 3 tenths for a large package????? That seems low…but I don’t know anything.

I read it as 3 tenths from the aero modifications alone plus (or minus, depending how you wanna look at it) an unspecified amount from the weight reduction measures.

... But it's Nugnes, so I don't put too much stock into this information to start with...

3 tenths for the aero is indeed what it says, there's no gain specified for the weight reductions

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Make or break for Russell in Canada I reckon.

Agreed. It's a track he's won at before. He needs to start rebuilding his momentum.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

https://i.postimg.cc/vT2MYcwr/2.jpg

Kinda like those!!

[Lasssept]

Autosport

- How F1's planned 60-40 power split for 2027 will affect each manufacturer

The internal combustion's maximum power output will be increased by 50kW, bringing it up to a total of 450kW (603bhp), and the electrical motor faces a 50kW cut for a maximum of 300kW (402bhp).

It won't be as simple as using more fuel and turning the motor down, however; the increased duty cycle of the engine running at power levels for it wasn't necessarily designed may yield an increase in the chance of reliability issues.
..
But who will it affect the most ? We don't know what each manufacturer has up their sleeve for next year but, using the current-spec '26 power units as a baseline, one can ascertain the direction of travel expected in their respective development rooms.
..
Mercedes - Engine should fill 50kW swing easily

Of all the five manufacturers, Mercedes likely has the least to lose; sure, it'll be giving up the performance from its MGU-K, but the German outfit's internal combustion engine is operating at the top end of the field. This has been visible in instances where the power delivery from the MGU-K begins to ramp down, as the speed loss is less obvious versus some of its rival manufacturers. This suggests that the ICE is in a good place in terms of output and, with the increase in fuel flow rate, it should be able to hit the targets set out by the 2027 revisions. It might even surpass them; Mercedes' engine is already above the 400kW output estimation set by the FIA.

Filling in the 50kW gap partly depends on how energy-dense Petronas' formulation of sustainable fuels is. It was estimated under the previous turbo-hybrid era that Mercedes had lost a little bit of power versus Honda owing to the switch to E10 fuels, although the differences in energy density of the current sustainable fuels used around the field are unknown.

Although it's been largely forgotten of late owing to the resolution in place, but let's not forget that F1 will implement compression ratio measurements at 130C from 1 June. Mercedes is adamant that this will have minimal effect and, from 2027, the ambient temperature measurement will be removed. Even if true, this likely only produces a swing of a few horsepower. Mercedes already has plenty of that to spare.

[zibby43]

Just 3 tenths for a large package????? That seems low…but I don’t know anything.

I read it as 3 tenths from the aero modifications alone plus (or minus, depending how you wanna look at it) an unspecified amount from the weight reduction measures.

... But it's Nugnes, so I don't put too much stock into this information to start with...

When I see info. from Nugnes, I throw it straight into the bin. Even a broken clock is right twice a day but not Nugnes.

[nitrotech]

Just 3 tenths for a large package????? That seems low…but I don’t know anything.

I read it as 3 tenths from the aero modifications alone plus (or minus, depending how you wanna look at it) an unspecified amount from the weight reduction measures.

... But it's Nugnes, so I don't put too much stock into this information to start with...

When I see info. from Nugnes, I throw it straight into the bin. Even a broken clock is right twice a day but not Nugnes.

I dont understand why Nugnes is brushed aside so irrationally. I did a gemini search about his reporting since 2014, and for most part, he was right in his report about upgrades. People here need to get over sporadic wrong reporting and regurgitating other posters' view of nugnes and give credit where it's due.

[Lasssept]

[SB15]

https://i.postimg.cc/DZFZYr1D/20260517-161218.jpg

"Whahaha you thought it be different this time"

[zibby43]

I read it as 3 tenths from the aero modifications alone plus (or minus, depending how you wanna look at it) an unspecified amount from the weight reduction measures.

... But it's Nugnes, so I don't put too much stock into this information to start with...

When I see info. from Nugnes, I throw it straight into the bin. Even a broken clock is right twice a day but not Nugnes.

I dont understand why Nugnes is brushed aside so irrationally. I did a gemini search about his reporting since 2014, and for most part, he was right in his report about upgrades. People here need to get over sporadic wrong reporting and regurgitating other posters' view of nugnes and give credit where it's due.

January 2024: Nugnes claims Merc will be sticking to a pull-rod rear suspension. W15 debuts, switching to push-rod.

Pre-2022 season: Nugnes claims Merc couldn't pass mandatory FIA crash tests and there was widespread panic at Brackley. Merc consistently denied all rumors and Merc had no problems launching the car.

For every year during the pre-ground-effect hybrid era: Nugnes claimed Ferrari would be switching to a thin, Mercedes-style nose to help fix some of the aero inefficiency issues that would always plague the Ferrari. Never happened.

One of my biggest issues recently, and has been evidenced as recently as this current season with the Merc front wing activation in China is his tendency to take routine occurrences like team XYZ asking the FIA to look at a particular team's design on a certain component and spit out a headline like, "FIA investigating Mercedes for illegal front wing!"

So, from my perspective, my brushing him aside is quite rationale. There are plenty of other sources to rely on that don't either flat-out guess (or if they are guessing, they state as much) or sensationalize headlines.