Seven Parts, One Word — “Ominous”: What Mercedes Actually Brought to Malaysia
New floor, sidepods, rear suspension and bodywork — Mercedes didn’t show up with a minor tweak, they showed up with a new rear end. Antonelli’s second place suggests it was worth it.
Mercedes’ rivals reached for the word “ominous” to describe the upgrade package brought to Sepang — and judging by Kimi Antonelli’s second place in the race, the description looks entirely earned.
Seven components, one shared philosophy
FIA documentation reveals seven separate new parts on the W17: a new floor board (horizontal and vertical elements), a reworked floor body with a re-optimised diffuser and winglets, a new floor leading edge, rear suspension, rear bodywork and a rear corner.
What the package was actually meant to achieve
The reworked floor aims to “improve local pressure distribution and reduce separations at the extremes of the operating envelope” — engineering-speak for “the car stays stable across more conditions,” not just in ideal ones.
The rear bodywork changes, meanwhile, increase the sideview ramp, directing more airflow down to the rear floor and the rear drum — which in practical terms means more grip at high speed.
The result speaks for itself
Mercedes hadn’t brought a major package since May — and this one debuted in one of the most chaotic races of the season, landing a podium. Rivals have every reason to be nervous: if this pace holds on more conventional tracks, the fight at the front of the grid looks different from here on out.
Based on reporting by PlanetF1 and Motorsport.com.
