Mercedes investigates upgrade after Sepang pace loss

Mercedes finished the Sepang weekend with questions about its latest car upgrade after losing the pace it had shown in practice, then endured further problems in the race. Team principal Toto Wolff said the team expected the package to make the car several tenths of a second faster, but qualifying performance was several tenths slower than anticipated. He said Mercedes still believed the upgrade worked and needed to investigate why it did not deliver at the circuit. Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth and George Russell eighth for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held at Sepang. A grid penalty for Isack Hadjar moved Antonelli to third and Russell to seventh. Mercedes had brought a substantial update to its W17, its first major package since the Canadian Grand Prix, and Antonelli had topped the final practice session. That speed did not carry into qualifying. Wolff said Mercedes had encountered car behaviour it had not seen earlier in the season. He pointed to lost time on the straights and understeer at low speed, while also noting Sepang’s heat and different track surface as possible factors. Russell said tyre degradation was affecting Mercedes more than its rivals.