Mercedes set to introduce ‘more obvious’ upgrades for W16

Mercedes is set to accelerate its development push for its W16 Silver Arrow, with technical director James Allison revealing that “more obvious” upgrades are on the horizon for the next few races.

After securing their strongest start to a season in four years, the team sits second in the constructors’ championship, albeit trailing McLaren by over 100 points.

With a steady stream of minor upgrades already introduced and a focus on mastering tyre temperatures, Mercedes is determined to close the gap to the leaders and translate their qualifying promise into race-day success.

Steady Progress with Bigger Steps to Come

In Mercedes’ post-Miami Grand Prix video debrief on YouTube, Allison revealed that although Miami marked the team’s first officially documented upgrade of the year, development has been ongoing since the start of the season.

“We have actually been bringing upgrades,” he explained. “They’re not particularly sort of enormous or sexy, but they’ve been coming in a steady trickle.”

While minor tweaks—such as lightened components built to existing designs—may not count as official upgrades in the FIA’s documentation, Allison hinted that fans and rivals alike will soon see more noticeable developments.

“There’s some that will be more obvious to the outside world in the next handful of races,” he said. “And with a bit of luck, they’ll improve our fortunes.”

However, Allison also noted the logistical challenges of keeping pace with a demanding calendar.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the season already. It’s been coming at the teams hard and fast. It’s actually quite difficult to get upgrades to the car when the races are coming at you in this sort of machine-gun fashion,” he said.

Focus on Tyre Temperatures and Race Day Delivery

While Mercedes has shown promising one-lap speed in qualifying sessions, Sunday performance remains a weakness, particularly in tyre management – a strength McLaren has exploited to its advantage.

“Because we’ve been pretty strong in qualifying for the first several races, I think we can expect to have an okay shout of getting the car reasonably well up the grid in qualifying,” Allison said.

“With a bit of luck, the upgrades might make that a bit better still.”

“But the main thing we’ll be focusing on is trying to get that race pace under control, trying to make sure that we deliver on the promise of our Saturdays on the Sunday.

“And that’s all about – or, the majority of it will be about – controlling the temperature of those tyres and making sure the car can therefore use the pace that’s in it.”

As the European leg of the calendar begins, all eyes will be on whether Mercedes’ planned upgrades can turn potential into podiums – and challenge McLaren’s early-season dominance.

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