Mercedes confirms F1 upgrade strategy amid Ferrari and Red Bull resurgence

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has warned followers of the team that the Brackley outfit faces an escalating threat from a resurgent Ferrari and Red Bull.

Speaking after the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, where George Russell salvage a second-place finish while team-mate Kimi Antonelli suffered a dislodged wheel shield, Shovlin noted the steps taken by Mercedes' rivals over recent grands prix. 

"After Austria, we thought Red Bull were going to be really quick. Ferrari definitely looked like they're quick. But we just need to mainly focus on ourselves, make sure we're operating well, we're getting the car to the finish reliably," Shovlin said during the latest episode of the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.

Unlike other teams that have introduced major development packages, Mercedes has adopted a different approach for its W17 challenger. Rather than bringing a large upgrade in one go, the team is opting for a steady stream of smaller updates at every grand prix. 

"We're bringing performance to it. We haven't done a massive kit like some of our competitors. But every week, we're trying to bring performance to just keep ourselves ahead at the moment," Shovlin added.

"We're lucky that we've got a car that works across a whole range of tracks. Well, probably not lucky. I think we've done a good job at engineering a car that works across a full range of tracks.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

"A lot of prep goes into the circuits to make sure that we land the car in the right place and we can perform well. We had a couple of circuits recently, like Monaco and Austria, that have been tough places for us over the last few years. It was great that we could turn it around there.

"But Spa is a really weird track, difficult from an energy point of view. So there's a lot of work we've got to do to make sure we can hit the ground running."

The 10th round of the 2026 season will take place at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix from 17-19 July.