Antonelli says Mercedes upgrades are finally making progress in Austin

Mercedes finds a better feel for its upgrade package

Kimi Antonelli believes Mercedes is beginning to understand how to unlock its latest W17 upgrade package after Friday practice at the United States Grand Prix. The Italian finished the second session second, just 0.042 seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s benchmark, and said he felt more comfortable in the car than he had during FP1.

Kimi Antonelli on track during United States Grand Prix practice

Mercedes had hoped the updates, first introduced in Malaysia, would restore the advantage it enjoyed earlier in the season. The package did not initially deliver the expected improvement, and George Russell returned to the older specification in Singapore. In Austin, both Mercedes drivers are using the same version, allowing the team to compare results and test different set-ups.

“Having both cars on the same upgrade package helps because we can try lots of different stuff and we can have a better understanding of this package,” Antonelli said.

Antonelli said the team used the break after Singapore to analyse its data and work out what the package needed, while acknowledging that Mercedes is still trying to find the right operating window. He also described a seat problem at the start of FP2: it was not secured properly and moved through the high-speed corners, briefly costing him time. He called the session a “good recovery” and said the team would keep working ahead of the next day’s running.

Mercedes expects a tight contest

Deputy team principal Bradley Lord cautioned against treating Austin as a title-deciding opportunity. Although a win combined with a low-scoring result for his rivals could theoretically put Antonelli in position to clinch the Drivers’ Championship, Lord said Mercedes was focused on collecting as many points as possible rather than viewing the weekend as “match point”.

Lord described the leading teams as closely matched, with long-run pace difficult to separate and single-lap gaps potentially measured in fractions of a tenth. He expects Antonelli, Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to be among those involved in a closely fought battle.