# Mercedes Upgrade Fails in Malaysia

> Mercedes' W17 upgrade lost five tenths in Malaysia qualifying after expected three.
- Title: Mercedes Upgrade Fails in Malaysia · RaceFans | Shortify
- Summary: Mercedes' W17 upgrade lost five tenths in Malaysia qualifying after expected three. Mercedes' W17 upgrade underperformed in Malaysia qualifying, losing five…
- Keywords: mercedes, w17, sepan, max verstappen, george russell, toto wolff, formula 1, constructors championship, sports, cars, Upgrade, Fails
- Source: RaceFans — https://racefans.net/2026/10/03/mercedes-expected-to-gain-three-tenths-from-upgrade-but-lost-five-wolff
- Published: 2026-10-03T09:38:20+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mercedes, w17, sepan, max verstappen, george russell, toto wolff, formula 1, constructors championship, sports, cars
## Mercedes' W17 upgrade
Mercedes suffered an unexpected setback in Malaysia as their upgrade for the W17 failed to deliver.
## Qualifying performance
The runaway leaders in the constructors’ championship produced one of their weakest qualifying performances of the season at Sepang.
## Wolff on expected gain
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said they expected the team’s long-awaited upgrade, one of few major packages they have introduced, would be worth around three tenths of a second.
## Wolff on performance drop
You’re expecting three tenths to kick in and it looks like [we’ve gone] three or four or five tenths backwards.

> You’re expecting three tenths to kick in and it looks like [we’ve gone] three or four or five tenths backwards
## Track conditions
Wolff said the unusually abrasive track surface at Sepang has complicated the team’s efforts to understand their new package.
## Car performance issues
They are very draggy because it’s the first time that we’re losing a lot of time on the straights to, especially, Max, and through low speed turn two, they cannot turn the car due to too much understeer.
## Key takeaway

Mercedes' W17 upgrade underperformed in Malaysia qualifying, losing five tenths instead of gaining three.