Mercedes targets poor starts with Montreal upgrade package

Mercedes arrived in Montreal with a clear priority: fix the poor starts that have repeatedly forced its drivers into recovery drives. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli and teammate George Russell both pointed to launch performance as the team's biggest weak point, prompting a significant technical overhaul for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Why it matters:

Mercedes has shown strong race pace this season but consistently loses positions off the line. With McLaren using the same power unit and starting well, the gap highlights a solvable issue. A clean start could be the difference between fighting for wins or playing catch-up.

The details:

• The upgrade package includes software refinements, clutch system revisions, and a new driver-specific clutch paddle for Antonelli
• “We are bringing a lot of new things … to find more performance and make the system more robust,” Antonelli said
• Russell acknowledged short-term gains are difficult: “We know short-term is going to be hard to make major gains … there are medium-term items we need to change”
• Mercedes cannot practice starts on the simulator, and track practice is limited, making real-world progress harder to validate

What's next:

Montreal's layout – with low-speed corners and heavy braking zones – may help reduce the impact of poor starts, but the real test comes at lights out. Both drivers expect progress, but not certainty. The stopwatch will tell the real story.