Mercedes arrives at Sepang with its biggest upgrade since Montreal

Mercedes will introduce its next major W17 upgrade package in Malaysia this weekend. The last comparable package came at the Canadian Grand Prix in May; since then, the team has mostly used circuit-specific adaptations while McLaren, Ferrari and then Red Bull pursued more aggressive development.

The timing is notable: George Russell has just won in Baku without these new parts. Andrew Shovlin said before this weekend that Mercedes hoped the Malaysian package would give it a car capable of fighting regularly for pole, without promising a dramatic leap.

Sepang will provide a very different test from Baku. The circuit combines long straights, heavy braking zones and long high-speed corners, with more downforce required. It is therefore a much more complete venue to judge whether Mercedes has genuinely found more performance in the W17.

There is also an unusual detail: this event is officially the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, moved to Sepang after Sakhir was cancelled earlier in the season. Formula 1 is therefore returning to Malaysia for the first time since 2017.