Mercedes W17

Development

Overseen by James Allison, the W17 is the first Mercedes car of the 2026 regulations, and the first since the end of the hybrid era which saw great success for the team. This has caused the W17 to be lighter, smaller and narrower than its predecessor.^[2] Controversy struck with Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains finding a loophole in the new regulations allowing for a higher compression ratio than the stated 1:16, due to measurements taken at ambient temperatures.^[3] The W17 registered its first 200 kilometres during a shakedown at Silverstone with both drivers testing the car.^[4]

Livery

Unveiled on 22 January 2026, the W17 livery is similar to the W16. Microsoft has become the airbox sponsor as the silver was removed. Along the sidepods, a zebra stripe pattern of silver and black has been added, forming the AMG logo.^[5]

Opening rounds

The car made its competitive debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, where Russell topped the third practice while Antonelli destroyed his car in the third practice.^[6] The mechanics were able to rebuild the car by the end of Q1, partly due to a red flag caused by Max Verstappen crashing his car. The car proved to be highly competitive, as Russell and Antonelli locked out the front row for the team with Russell finishing 0.785 seconds ahead of closest non-Mercedes car.^[7]

At the start of the race, Russell lost the lead to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, while Antonelli dropped down to seventh place. Leclerc and Russell traded places for the first 12 laps while Antonelli moved up to fourth place behind Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes capitalised on a Virtual Safety Car by pitting both on lap 13. The leading two Ferraris pitted both cars later on in the race under normal racing conditions and came out behind both Mercedes. Both cars managed 45 laps on hard tyres to the checkered flag, securing a 1-2 finish twelve seconds clear of the closest car. The win marked Mercedes' 61st 1–2 finish, and the first by Mercedes since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was won by Russell, and put the team into an early lead in both championships.^[8]

At the Chinese Grand Prix, the car continued its dominant form. Russell took sprint pole ahead of Antonelli, with the two locking out the front row for the sprint race. Russell went on to win while Antonelli fell down to 5th. In qualifying for the main race, Antonelli became the youngest ever Formula One polesitter at 19 years and 6 months. Russell salvaged second despite an issue in Q3 that left him with only a single flying lap. At the start, both Antonelli and Russell lost positions to Ferrari but climbed their way back. Antonelli secured his first ever Grand Prix win, becoming the second youngest ever Grand Prix winner behind Max Verstappen. Antonelli also set the fastest lap, becoming the youngest ever driver to secure a hat trick of a pole, a race win, and the fastest lap. Russell came home second, and the result marked back-to-back 1-2 finishes for the team.