Martin Brundle shares what he’s hearing about Mercedes’ Canadian Grand Prix upgrades

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Martin Brundle is hearing that Mercedes are “pretty confident” their upgrades for this weekend’s 2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix will deliver a performance boost for the W17.

The travelling circus of Formula 1 returns to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for round five of the season on May 22-24 with Mercedes atop the drivers’ and constructors’ standings. Yet the Silver Arrows are not resting on their laurels despite enjoying a dominant start to the season.

Mercedes have secured every Grand Prix pole position and win on offer so far this year, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli even sealing three poles and wins in a row to usurp teammate George Russell in the standings. Russell had won from pole in Australia and in the F1 Sprint in China.

Only McLaren have so far interrupted Mercedes’ reign when Lando Norris won the Sprint in Miami ahead of Oscar Piastri. Antonelli got revenge in the Grand Prix after undercutting the Briton to win, yet McLaren ran the second-most updates in Miami, while Mercedes ran two.

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Martin Brundle believes Mercedes are ‘pretty confident’ their Canadian GP upgrades will work

Mercedes decided to delay introducing the bulk of their first major upgrade package of 2026 until the Canadian GP, where McLaren will also have another influx of updates. And Brundle is hearing that Mercedes are “pretty confident” that their updates will make the W17 faster.

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Brundle acknowledges that Mercedes’ rivals “won’t stand still” in the development race, but the Brackley outfit would not bring updates if they were not confident. It has been said that Mercedes think their Canadian GP upgrades are worth 0.3s a lap, as they prepare to debut a new front wing and a new floor, along with new software to try to improve their race starts.

“These are brand-new regulations, and it’s going to be the story of the season with teams flip-flopping around with incredible changes and improvement as they learn all about the biggest change we’ve had in the history of Formula 1,” Brundle told Sky Sports.

“Mercedes are pretty confident. They’re not going to put stuff on the car that’s slower, so we’ll just see where they all stand. It’s a different track layout completely to Miami, lots of long straights and slow corners and chicanes.”

Reports have suggested that on top of Mercedes’s aerodynamic updates in Canada, the plan is to introduce updates that will reduce the weight of the W17. The Brackley natives are said to have worked on a lighter gearbox and other parts to hit the minimum 768kg weight limit.

Given Mercedes’ dominance so far this season and their imminent updates due in Montreal, Juan Pablo Montoya says “everyone” expects Russell will do well in Canada, too. Russell won from pole in Canada in 2025 and scored pole in 2024, as it is a circuit he likes – unlike Miami.