Mercedes has made a decision on the long-awaited engine upgrade

Mercedes is working on an engine upgrade made possible by the FIA’s ADUO system. The new upgrade was initially expected to debut in Austin, but George Russell and Kimi Antonelli still raced with the current specification there, as GPblog reported earlier. The new parts were not used in Mexico either. Brazil and Las Vegas were then considered possible opportunities. GPblog can now confirm that the new parts will not be used at Interlagos either.

After the Singapore Grand Prix, Russell identified Las Vegas as a possible venue for his next engine change. The Briton is keen to use the new parts, but will have to take another grid penalty. Mercedes therefore wants to choose a circuit where he can more easily make up the lost places.

The original plan was to combine his next engine penalty with the introduction of the ADUO upgrade. However, an engine problem during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia forced Mercedes to fit new parts in Singapore. As a result, Russell had to take a grid penalty before the improved specification was available.

The Briton explained to this site and others at the time that the failed engine had completed six race weekends. It had also only been used on Sunday in Hungary. With seven Grands Prix remaining, he expected that after the change in Singapore he would need another engine change later in the season.

Mercedes is allowed to develop its power unit further because the FIA’s first ADUO assessment found it to be two to four per cent behind the best internal combustion engine, Red Bull Ford Powertrains’. This gave the manufacturer one additional homologation opportunity for 2026, as well as an extra upgrade for 2027.

The assessment concerns the internal combustion engine, not the performance of the power unit’s electrical component. Mercedes was therefore given room for further development, despite the widespread assumption in the paddock that its power unit was the strongest in Formula 1. Antonelli secured his first world title in Mexico last weekend, and Mercedes could do the same this weekend in São Paulo.

There is no definitive confirmation yet that the new engine specification will debut in Las Vegas. With Brazil now also ruled out, however, the US race weekend is the next opportunity to use the new parts for the first time.