Mercedes introduces new floor, sidepods for F1 Bahrain GP
by Jake Boxall-Legge · AutosportTo further its advantage in 2026's F1 performance stakes, Mercedes has unveiled wide-ranging updates to its car in Malaysia
Mercedes has revealed its updates for Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, introducing a vastly reworked floor and new sidepods as it seeks to increase its control in both 2026 championships.
The W17 has been the class of the field so far in 2026, although has faced competition from Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull intermittently throughout the season.
Although none of them has been able to produce a concerted effort to challenge Mercedes and its drivers in either the drivers' or constructors' standings, the Silver Arrows is nonetheless keen to keep up development.
The floor updates touch on the floor board, leading edge, rear corner, and the main underbody area – including the diffuser area – while the rear half of the sidepod bodywork has also been revised.
Here, Mercedes has moved away from the undercut sidepod geometry used since the start of the season – and since adapted by other teams – for a ramped profile.
The change in sidepod geometry demonstrates something of a shift in Mercedes' approach to flow management at the rear of the car, albeit without straying too far from the inwash characteristics presented in the previous design.
With the old-spec design, Mercedes used an undercut to prioritise inwash flow around the Coke bottle section of the car. The new version still does this, but now uses a ramp along the top surface to pull the flow downwards too to enhance the simultaneous downwash towards the top of the diffuser.
By doing this, the team is intending to increase the pressure field in this area, therefore enhancing the pressure differential between the top surface and the air within the diffuser volume. As such, downforce increases.
The changes to the floor board are also quite noticeable, featuring a rework to the three horizontal elements. The upper 'slat' now features a lower leading edge, albeit ultimately resolving in the same angular trailing edge as the older design.
However, there are now two vertical pieces behind this, which offer more flow guidance to the wake shed off the front tyre. These help to condition the flow and bring it outwards, while the horizontal pieces continue to flick airflow upwards to help clear the wake away from the car and allow clean flow to be channeled around the sidepods.
The team has also reworked the rear suspension fairings and the winglets implemented within the rear wheel drums to further enhance the changes to the floor and sidepod bodywork, as it aims to improve rear-end downforce around the car.
This is Mercedes' first large-scale update package since May's Canadian Grand Prix; the team opted to delay its car build ahead of 2026 to implement as many of its winter developments as possible. This ensured the W17 was a few steps ahead of its rival cars at the start of the season, but left the team with fewer parts in the pipeline for the opening rounds.
"We think it's a good step, purely because it's been so long since we last brought an upgrade," said George Russell, who won for the team last time out in Baku to close the gap to Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' championship to 66 points.
"It's quite abnormal to have an upgrade back in May and then only again almost in October. So as an individual upgrade step, it's large, but in a normal season it's just sort of a normal trajectory where you would have expected from a May to an October upgrade package.
"I'm hoping it's going to propel us back to the front on these types of circuits, which have been more challenging for us in the past six races."
Mercedes will run in Malaysia with a teal and black livery to recognise its title partner Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company and the official fuel supplier to all Mercedes-powered teams on the grid.
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