{"id":3215,"date":"2026-10-02T03:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3215"},"modified":"2026-10-02T04:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T07:15:42","slug":"mercedes-brings-seven-sepang-upgrades-as-seven-f1-teams-reveal-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/mercedes-brings-seven-sepang-upgrades-as-seven-f1-teams-reveal-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes brings seven Sepang upgrades as seven F1 teams reveal changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mercedes declared seven updates<\/strong>, the largest package submitted for Sepang.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seven teams listed changes, with <strong>14 update entries across the grid<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Williams, Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac submitted no new updates for this event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mercedes has brought the largest declared upgrade package to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia<\/strong>, with seven changes targeting the floor and rear of its W17. The FIA\u2019s car presentation document lists updates from <strong>seven of the 11 <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1<\/a> teams<\/strong> for the return to Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The championship-leading team has revised four areas of its floor, alongside the rear suspension fairings, rear corner and rear bodywork. Together, those changes aim to improve airflow and increase aerodynamic load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red Bull and Ferrari have submitted smaller aerodynamic developments, while McLaren and Alpine have introduced changes addressing cooling requirements. Racing Bulls lists two updates and Haas one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What has Mercedes changed at Sepang?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The floor is the centrepiece of Mercedes\u2019 package.<\/strong> Its submission identifies changes to the floor board, leading edge, corner and main body, including the diffuser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rear suspension update concerns the <strong>aerodynamic fairings surrounding the components<\/strong>, rather than a declared wholesale redesign of the suspension\u2019s mechanical layout. Mercedes has also revised the rear-corner winglets and rear bodywork so those areas work with the new floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are interconnected developments: the team is changing how air reaches the rear of the car and how the surrounding surfaces contribute to downforce. <strong>All seven entries are classified as performance updates<\/strong>, rather than circuit-specific cooling modifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The package began its track evaluation in Friday\u2019s opening practice. <strong>George Russell finished second, 0.383 seconds behind Max Verstappen<\/strong>, while Kimi Antonelli placed fifth, 1.060 seconds off the fastest time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That opening result provides an initial reference, but establishing the upgrade\u2019s effectiveness also requires assessing tyre behaviour and performance over longer runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Red Bull and Ferrari bring focused aerodynamic changes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red Bull has revised its <strong>floor-board geometry<\/strong>, seeking additional aerodynamic load while maintaining stable airflow behind the front tyres. Its submission lists one update entry, compared with Mercedes\u2019 seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrari\u2019s development is concentrated around the <strong>outboard winglets of the diffuser<\/strong>. The team identifies it as a broader performance improvement, rather than a part designed exclusively for Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The difference in the number of entries describes the scope of the submissions. It does not establish how much lap time each team will gain: a single development can affect several aspects of the car\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">McLaren and Alpine prioritise cooling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>McLaren has introduced a high-cooling engine cover<\/strong>, designed to increase airflow through the cooling system. The change addresses the demands of Malaysia and upcoming circuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alpine has modified the exit of its front brake drums to increase brake-cooling capacity. Its submission also links the development to thermal management at forthcoming venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those changes have a different immediate purpose from Mercedes\u2019 aerodynamic package. Maintaining suitable operating temperatures is essential to sustaining performance in Sepang\u2019s demanding conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Racing Bulls and Haas refine their cars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Racing Bulls has listed a <strong>longer-chord front-wing flap<\/strong> to extend its aerodynamic balance options. The submission specifies that the front wing was introduced at the previous event; the flap provides the load range required for Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team has also revised its rear-wing support components to improve aerodynamic efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haas, meanwhile, has updated the geometry of its <strong>rear impact structure<\/strong>, making an additional device available to help tune the car\u2019s characteristics for the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Williams, Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac declared no updates for this event.<\/strong> That refers to this weekend\u2019s car presentation submissions and does not mean they have stopped developing their cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bahrain GP in Malaysia: team-by-team upgrades<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Team<\/th><th>Declared update entries<\/th><th>Components and purpose<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Mercedes<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td><td>Floor board, floor leading edge, floor corner, floor body, rear suspension fairings, rear corner and rear bodywork<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>McLaren<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>High-cooling engine cover<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Red Bull<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>Revised floor-board geometry<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ferrari<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>Diffuser outboard winglets<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Racing Bulls<\/td><td>2<\/td><td>Front-wing flap and rear-wing support components<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Haas<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>Rear impact structure geometry<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Alpine<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>Front brake-drum exit for cooling<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Williams<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>No updates submitted<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Aston Martin<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>No updates submitted<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Audi<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>No updates submitted<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cadillac<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>No updates submitted<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Seven teams submitted changes<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teams continue evaluating their cars in FP2 at <strong>16:00 local time on Friday, 2 October<\/strong>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/what-time-is-f1-practice-at-sepang-friday-fp1-and-fp2-schedule\/\">Sepang Friday practice schedule<\/a> includes session times for the UK, North America, India and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 is racing this weekend, from 2\u20134 October, in Malaysia, which hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover all the action at Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, 4 October, taking his first victory of the 2026 F1 season. Kimi Antonelli finished second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia delayed?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heavy rain initially delayed the start at Sepang. Several drivers then experienced power delivery problems during the formation procedure, forcing race control to suspend the start again. The race eventually began more than 90 minutes after its scheduled time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How far ahead is Kimi Antonelli in the F1 championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 84 points after finishing second at Sepang while his Mercedes teammate retired. Antonelli has 320 points, Russell has 236 and Lewis Hamilton is third with 214.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What upgrades has Mercedes brought to Sepang?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mercedes declared seven updates covering four floor areas, the rear suspension fairings, rear corner and rear bodywork. The package targets aerodynamic performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A redesigned floor and revised rear-end aerodynamics headline Mercedes\u2019 package for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, while McLaren and Alpine focus on cooling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020316511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"George Russell","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Mercedes","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":13,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[630,689,16,113],"42wp_author":[13],"class_list":["post-3215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia","tag-f1-upgrades","tag-mercedes","tag-sepang","42wp_author-luana-marino"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3216,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions\/3216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020316511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}