Mercedes brought a heavily modified W17 to Montreal; in practice, a total of eight different modifications have been introduced for Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Starting with the front wing, the endplates at the winglets have been modified to deflect the airflow, increasing downwash while also adding additional strakes to optimise airflow management around the front wheels.
Alongside these modifications, to increase the efficiency of the braking systems, which are always particularly stressed in Montreal, a different section of the front brake air intakes has been implemented to achieve more effective heat dissipation.
However, the most significant modification was to the reprofiling of the barge boards, serving the dual function of separating the airflow directed toward the lower part of the sidepods and directing it under the floor, and has been redesigned in two specific sections.
At the edge of the floor, the number of vents has been increased to create a lower aerodynamic seal in front of the rear wheels, with the reshaping of the upper diffuser and the cascade of side winglets also significant in its nature.
All these modifications, in fact, not only result in an increase in downforce but also in a management of the outflow or air that, by creating a larger low-pressure area behind the rear wing, allows for increased efficiency (less drag) with the flap open in Straight mode.
It is worth noting that although the changes are visually evident, they cannot be considered a radical departure from the W17’s aerodynamic concept. In fact, it would not have made sense, for example, to compromise the near-optimal balance that the car had demonstrated in previous races in order to achieve even higher downforce values.
It is equally important to note that Kimi Antonelli, speaking with the Italian press, expressed particular confidence in the modifications, revealing that he played an active role in determining certain choices. This was specifically to avoid losing the current drivability qualities of the W17, which Antonelli has amply demonstrated he prefers, allowing him to feel the car is fully under control in every situation.
It will be interesting to assess, in a direct comparison with his teammate George Russell, whether there will be agreement on the benefits gained from these modifications over the course of the weekend or, conversely, whether their assessments are not perfectly aligned.
In fact, this factor could point to the future direction of the car’s development, leaning more clearly in favour of just one of the team’s two drivers…
