Formula 1 Spanish GP
Mercedes: 2027 development “started a while ago” as F1 2026 domination continues
Toto Wolff admits Mercedes has a “nice buffer” at the top of the F1 constructors’ standings as it switches resources to 2027
Owen Bellwood Filip Cleeren
Published: Sep 17, 2026, 3:58 PM
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Clive Mason - Getty Images
Mercedes now sits 145 points clear of its nearest rivals in the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ standings, which team boss Toto Wolff describes as a “nice buffer” that means it can pivot its focus to development for 2027.
After a torrid time in F1’s ground effect era, the Silver Arrows have dominated the 2026 regulations so far, with a lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings and Kimi Antonelli on top in the drivers’ championship.
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The team has so far won 10 out of 14 grands prix this year despite rivals such as McLaren and Ferrari bringing ample upgrades to their 2026 challengers. For its part, Mercedes brought updates to the Canadian Grand Prix in May and plans to fit another suite of new parts next month at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. In between, it deployed a few small track-specific tweaks, but its pace of new parts hasn’t matched that of Ferrari or McLaren.
The pace of development at the Silver Arrows could stay this way for the remainder of the season, as Wolff confirmed that his squad has already started redistributing resources to focus on next year’s challenger.
“2027 started a while ago, before the summer,” he said after Antonelli won the first Spanish Grand Prix to be held at the Madring. “Summer we switched resources into next year and that continues as per the plan independent of where we're standing in the championship.”
As things stand, the team's standing in the championship appears to be pretty safe. Ferrari has a hefty deficit to overturn and while there is momentum with McLaren after Lando Norris claimed two race wins, it seems to be an insurmountable task.
Despite this, Wolff isn't getting ahead of himself when it comes to the team's prospects in F1 2026.
Toto Wolff says Mercedes has already started working on 2026
Photo by: Anni Graf - Formula 1 via Getty Images
“You can DNF, you can crash out. It happens two times in a row and then suddenly what looked like a nice buffer is not anymore because you have six races to go,” he said on Sunday.
“So, in my opinion, we just need to ignore the points until it is mathematically not realistic anymore or not real anymore for them to win and until then just concentrate on each and every week and try to bring your best game.”
In order to bring its "best game", Mercedes has a "solid" upgrade ready to roll out in Malaysia. And while he admits there can be issues when bringing new parts to the track, the Mercedes boss appears confident in the new parts that will debut next month.
“I think we are bringing a solid upgrade in Malaysia,” he told Sky Sports on Saturday. “So, we got to survive another one in Baku and let's see, but sometimes it doesn't correlate with the road so well.
“So, I hope that it does and hopefully that puts us on par with the others in terms of upgrades but we never know.”
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