Mercedes deployed its first significant upgrades in over three months at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but these did not improve the team’s performance at Sepang, the team reported.
These modifications aimed to increase aerodynamic downforce at medium and high speeds, an area where the car had lost ground to competitors in recent races. To achieve this, the bodywork mass was moved forward to create more free volume in front of the rear wheels, involving the relocation of cooling ducts to form “cannons” between the sidepods and the engine cover.
Despite these changes, the expected performance gain did not materialize, prompting Mercedes to delve into data analysis to understand the reasons for this lack of progress.