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There’s no doubting Mercedes’ superiority in F1’s new technical ruleset, but Ralf Schumacher thinks the W17 is yet to reach its peak as he theorises on the Silver Arrows still having ‘something up their sleeve’ in the battle against Ferrari.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have both led one-twos for Mercedes in the first two rounds of the 2026 F1 season, culminating in a 31-point lead for the German constructor over their closest rivals, Ferrari.
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The gap to the rest of the grid is currently stark, with McLaren occupying third place with just 18 points to their name, some 81 points behind the Brackley-based outfit.
Some staff at Ferrari’s Maranello factory have already given up hope on being able to dethrone Mercedes due to the current benchmark that the W17 is setting, and it is now understood that the Silver Arrows could further extend the gap to their Italian rivals.
- READ MORE: Ferrari already planning ‘reconfigured’ engine to combat Mercedes’ super-clipping advantage
Ralf Schumacher thinks Mercedes still have ‘something up their sleeve’ amid 2026 dominance
In a recent episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, six-time Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher touched upon the rumours that Mercedes are still withholding some performance in their W17 despite the levels of dominance it has already shown.
The German pundit said, “I do believe that they still have something up their sleeve. However, in race pace, the Ferrari is also there, in terms of performance. Lewis Hamilton has confirmed it.
“So there is a possibility that Mercedes can step up again, in a legal way, obviously, while Ferrari seems to be able to demand more performance from the engine during the race with the same durability. So from that perspective, it is closer than I thought.
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“There is still potential in the car. You can also see that after the safety car phases, both drivers always have major problems, unlike Ferrari, to get up to speed, and to bring the temperature into the car directly.
“Accordingly, I do believe that Ferrari is closer than one would have expected to Mercedes.”
- READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya says Mercedes will ‘ruin’ Ferrari’s season by lobbying the FIA on race starts
The FIA have green-lit Ferrari’s new aero upgrade for the Japanese GP
One way in which Ferrari are hoping to eat into the performance deficit they are currently facing to Mercedes is through a couple of aero upgrades.
After debuting in pre-season testing and going through some refinements, Ferrari are expected to tack on the Macarena rear wing at the Japanese Grand Prix. Engineers were reportedly encouraged enough by the data collected in Shanghai to give it a proper run this weekend.
It also recently emerged that the FIA have green-lit Ferrari’s Halo winglet, which debuted last time out in China.
The new part was subsequently shelved in China due to legality concerns from other teams, but it is understood that it will be making an appearance at Suzuka after technical delegates were unable to find an issue with it.
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