MERCEDES will introduce their first significant car upgrade of the season at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The world championship leaders only brought small modifications to their W17 car for the Miami Grand Prix at the start of the month in comparison to the bigger packages introduced by rivals Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
Team principal Toto Wolff said: “Our competitors took a step forward in Miami and we need to respond; seven Grands Prix in 10 weekends before shutdown is an opportunity to do that and build momentum.
“We bring our first update package of the year to Montreal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track.”
With four Grand Prix wins from four so far, Mercedes lead Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship by 70 points, while their drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are first and second respectively in the Drivers’ Championship.
But Wolff cautioned: “Despite being in the middle of May, we are just four races into the season.
“There is a long year ahead and, whilst this is an important weekend, it will not decide any outcomes. We will stay balanced, keep learning, and execute each weekend as well as we can.”
Honda’s work to improve the performance and reliability of their 2026 engine continues at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix as Aston Martin’s partners target giving their drivers more confidence into corners.
After Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll recorded Aston Martin’s first double race finish of the season last time out in Miami, Honda will focus on improving energy deployment from their engine in Montreal.
“At the Miami Grand Prix, we confirmed our battery vibration improvements and our overall power unit reliability,” said Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, Shintaro Orihara.
“It was also a key opportunity to learn on the energy management side under the updated 2026 regulations and this will continue in Canada.
“In Montreal, which is Lance’s home race, we will focus on enhancing the driveability and our energy management strategy to support the drivers in building more confidence. In fact, this is an important target of our race weekend.
“If we can give more confidence to the drivers in entering the corners faster and carrying more speed, then we unlock lap time.
“Canada is another new Sprint race format, making FP1 important. At this event, it’s the usual 60-minutes, so it’s crucial to optimise everything during this session.” – Sky Sports.