Mercedes and Haas bring upgrades to F1 U.S. Grand Prix

AUSTIN, Texas -- The ten Formula 1 teams have kept upgrades to a minimum here at the United States Grand Prix.

With the 2025 season winding down and new regulations set to arrive next year that could shake up the entire grid, many teams have already shifted their development focus to next year. Add in the fact that McLaren clinched the Constructors’ Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, and you can understand why the game has changed.

Only two teams announced upgrades for the United States Grand Prix on Friday: Haas and Mercedes. Both teams are locked in a battle for position in the standings, with Mercedes fighting with Ferrari for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship while Haas is trying to chase down Sauber for P7.

Mercedes currently holds a 27-point lead over Ferrari in the fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship. The Silver Arrows announced some minor “performance” changes to the rear of the W16, specifically a “[r]eprofiled upper lip and reduced span winglets.”

According to their Car Presentation Submission on Friday, the “[u]pper lip camber reduced to improve local flow quality around top wishbone, and winglet span reduced to increase tyre clearance.”

Noted technical analyst Albert Fabrega shared these images of the W16 from pit lane on Friday:

In the team’s Car Presentation Submission, Mercedes noted the below changes:

While the changes to the W16 might be described as minimal, Haas brought a more extensive package to Austin for the United States Grand Prix.

The new components include changes to the floor, the rear corner of the VF-25, as well as the sidepod inlets. The team described each new component as a “performance” upgrade.

According to Haas, the changes to the floor of the VF-25 build on a previous upgrade by “refining the floor fences and outboard edge to increase aerodynamic load, with a focus on high-speed corner performance.”

Haas also noted that the changes to the floor required “an optimization of the rear corner winglet.”

The team also altered the mirror stay to improve aerodynamic flow around the VF-25.

Here is the diagram from the team’s Car Presentation Submission:

And here is a look at the VF-25 from Friday on pit lane:

When meeting with the media on Thursday, Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu described the upgrades as aimed at both “drivability” and “flexibility:

”It’s both, you know,” described Komatsu. “You improve the overall performance and the drivability, and stability. The package that gives more predictability gives the driver more confidence, which means better drivability.”

Komatsu also noted the “confidence” around the team now that Haas has developed the car in season in two consecutive years.

”So yeah, assuming that tomorrow’s one goes well, now I have to say I’m really happy how we’ve been developing the car,“ added Komatsu. ”You know, two years in a row before we’ve been told cannot develop the car, and then last year we proved that we could, and then this year, you know, same people basically working together proved in the second year in a row that we can develop the car.

”So that gives, I think, everybody a huge amount of confidence.“

We’ll get a sense of whether the upgrades are working later today, with one hour of practice before F1 Sprint qualifying here at the United States Grand Prix.