Mercedes forced to activate 'plan B' as Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari threaten title hopes

An edit of Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton both looking annoyed — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes forced to activate 'plan B' as Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari threaten title hopes

The second half of 2026 is going to be epic

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Friday 14 August 2026 20:45 Updated: 16:40

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Mercedes are set for a drastic change of approach for the remainder of 2026, forced to activate 'plan B' amid the threat from Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, according to reports in the Italian press.

The Silver Arrows currently lead both the drivers' and constructors' championships, but there is still a long way to go this season, with just 11 rounds in the books.

Following last month's Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton sits 50 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' standings, while Mercedes hold a 72-point advantage over Ferrari in the constructors'.

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Mercedes activate 'plan B'

While those gaps are healthy ones to hold in both championships, they are not insurmountable, and this has caused Mercedes to alter course for the rest of the season.

According to AutoRacer.it, such was their dominance at the start of the year, the Silver Arrows had planned to halt the development of their W17 once the first half of the season was over, allowing them to instead focus their development on their 2027 car.

However, the report claims that their backup plan - bringing upgrades in the second half of the season to the W17 - has now been activated with several factors at play.

First and foremost, Antonelli and George Russell have lost significant points due to reliability issues, so their advantages over their rivals are not where Mercedes anticipated that they would be.

Furthermore, Mercedes are also reportedly factoring in Ferrari's resurgence, with Hamilton and the team now breathing down their necks in both championships, and McLaren's return to form with Lando Norris winning their first race of the year last time out.

When are Mercedes bringing upgrades?

AutoRacer now says that the Silver Arrows will put into production a host of upgrades that were intended for their 2027 car into production, with minor updates to the W17 coming as soon as the Dutch Grand Prix next weekend.

A major upgrade is said to be in the pipeline for the Singapore Grand Prix in October; however, this could reportedly be moved forward to the Bahrain Grand Prix set to be held in Malaysia the week prior.

F1 2026 standings

Here are the F1 2026 drivers' standings in full after 11 rounds of the season, with Antonelli on top, and Hamilton his closest competitor at this stage.

F1 standings after 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix
Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	219
2	Lewis Hamilton	Scuderia Ferrari HP	169
3	George Russell	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	160
4	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari HP	138
5	Lando Norris	McLaren Mastercard F1 Team	128
6	Max Verstappen	Oracle Red Bull Racing	109
7	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mastercard F1 Team	92
8	Isack Hadjar	Oracle Red Bull Racing	68
9	Liam Lawson	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	43
10	Pierre Gasly	BWT Alpine F1 Team	42
11	Arvid Lindblad	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	23
12	Franco Colapinto	BWT Alpine F1 Team	19
13	Oliver Bearman	TGR Haas F1 Team	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi Revolut F1 Team	10
15	Carlos Sainz	Atlassian Williams F1 Team	6
16	Alex Albon	Atlassian Williams F1 Team	5
17	Esteban Ocon	TGR Haas F1 Team	3
18	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi Revolut F1 Team	2
19	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac F1 Team	0
21	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac F1 Team	0
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	0