The 2026 Canadian GP is just around the horizon, with reports suggesting that McLaren and Mercedes are set to introduce big upgrades at the upcoming F1 weekend. Let’s have a detailed look at what these upgrades are going to be and the expected performance gain from them.
F1 Miami Grand Prix – Source: Getty
The F1 team got a month-long Spring break following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs. As a result, all teams but Aston Martin brought upgrades to the Miami GP. Teams like Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren brought significant upgrades to the cars.
Ferrari brought the most upgrades with 12, whereas Mercedes only brought a couple of upgrades to Miami, which included a Tailpipe reposition and increased front drum lip chord. McLaren brought a total of seven upgrades to Miami, which was believed to be only half of a major upgrade.
Going into the Canadian GP at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, McLaren is reportedly bringing the remaining parts of the major upgrade, whereas Mercedes is also reported to be bringing a mega upgrade.
As per F1 reporter Jon Noble, McLaren is set to bring a plethora of upgrades this weekend, which include “a number of new components across the floor, chassis, front and rear wings, bodywork, halo and roll hoop.” McLaren brought upgrades to the front and rear wing, engine cover, sidepod inlet, and floor at the Miami GP.
As for Mercedes, the Silver Arrows lost ground to McLaren and Ferrari in the performance index at the Miami GP. However, the Canadian GP upgrades are believed to reset the grid in Mercedes’ favor as the Brackley-based outfit is reportedly believed to extract 0.3 seconds’ worth of performance from the new upgrades.
As for what the new upgrade on the Mercedes is going to be, reports suggest “a new front wing, revised brake ducts, an updated flat floor and fresh sidepod design.” Enhanced software to improve race starts as well as a reduced-weight gearbox to optimize the car’s mass are also being brought to the Canadian GP.
McLaren boss reacts to Red Bull’s new sidepod ideology
Max Verstappen had been complaining about the drivability and balance of the RB22 since the start of the season. Red Bull brought a major upgrade to the Miami GP in hopes of resolving these issues, and one such upgrade was the sidepods, which caught McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella’s eye. Speaking about the same, Stella said,
“It’s a very interesting phase because if you see the sidepod concept that Red Bull introduced, that’s quite different to the sidepod concept that, for instance, Mercedes and Ferrari have adopted.”
“They’ve also been quite smart and innovative in the way they have used some legality concession to introduce such geometry. I think that the overall design of the car is far from converging,” he added
The 2026 championship battle will come down to which team has the best development over the season.
