close global

Welcome to GPFans

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY

  • NL
  • GB
  • IT
  • ES-MX
  • US
  • GB

Are you a F1 Fan? Follow GP Fans

Edition

NL GB IT ES-MX US

Mercedes expect a 'chunk' of development in time for Austrian season opener

Photo: © LAT Images

Mercedes expect a 'chunk' of development in time for Austrian season opener

James Allison says work had been done on developments before lockdown

Mercedes is looking to bring a significant number of upgrades to their W11 car for the Formula 1 season opener in Austria at the start of next month.

Technical director James Allison has said upgrades for the car have been in development since Christmas, and focus has now shifted to implementing them in time for Austria.

"If you imagine where the launch car was and the car that would have gone to Australia, that was frozen around about Christmas," Allison told technical partner Petronas in a video for social media.

"There was the whole of January, whole of February, March, all making the car quicker in the wind tunnel and also in the design departments.

"We got quite a lot of ideas about how to make it quicker, and quite a lot of those ideas were already in process through the design office before we were forced to shut down nine weeks ago."

Development was temporarily frozen when Formula 1 brought forward and extended the summer shutdown due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

He continued: "Our challenge now is to make sure that quarter of a year of development can get off the drawing boards and onto the car as swiftly as possible.

"We hope to have a chunk of that for the first race in Austria, and the season that follows will of course take as much of the development as fast as we can get it onto the car in turn."

Before you go...

F1 'governance' prevents the sport from trying new things - Steiner

Norris and Sainz back in action in F3 cars

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Fernando Alonso lays out bleak Aston Martin Chinese GP expectations after Honda disaster

Fernando Alonso lays out bleak Aston Martin Chinese GP expectations after Honda disaster

  • 1 minute ago
Toto Wolff responds to McLaren's Mercedes complaint and it's not good news

Toto Wolff responds to McLaren's Mercedes complaint and it's not good news

  • 1 hour ago
Aston Martin problems pile up as F1 chief explains Australian Grand Prix 'mess'

Aston Martin problems pile up as F1 chief explains Australian Grand Prix 'mess'

  • 1 hour ago
Jos Verstappen responds strongly to GPFans' call to abolish new F1 engines

Jos Verstappen responds strongly to GPFans' call to abolish new F1 engines

  • 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Max Verstappen drops hint on future, Honda chief furious

F1 News Today: Max Verstappen drops hint on future, Honda chief furious

  • 3 hours ago
F1 stars freak out over spider prank

F1 stars freak out over spider prank

  • Yesterday 22:55

Just in

10:56
Fernando Alonso lays out bleak Aston Martin Chinese GP expectations after Honda disaster
09:43
Toto Wolff responds to McLaren's Mercedes complaint and it's not good news
08:59
Aston Martin problems pile up as F1 chief explains Australian Grand Prix 'mess'
08:14
Jos Verstappen responds strongly to GPFans' call to abolish new F1 engines
07:22
F1 News Today: Max Verstappen drops hint on future, Honda chief furious
F1 news

Recommended by the editors

Lewis Hamilton is the biggest winner from the Australian Grand Prix - this is why Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is the biggest winner from the Australian Grand Prix - this is why

March 8, 2026 17:52
F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 results: Final classification with penalties applied Australian Grand Prix

F1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 results: Final classification with penalties applied

March 8, 2026 16:27
F1’s new cars in 2026 are how much slower? Australian Grand Prix confirms the sad truth F1 2026

F1’s new cars in 2026 are how much slower? Australian Grand Prix confirms the sad truth

March 7, 2026 18:56
F1 Engine Compression Ratio - What is it and why is it so controversial? F1 Explained

F1 Engine Compression Ratio - What is it and why is it so controversial?

March 7, 2026 12:31
Ontdek het op Google Play
x