Why didn't Mercedes' upgrades provide the boost they needed in Malaysia?

Mercedes’ first big upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix over three months ago did not bring the hoped-for boost in performance around Sepang and the team are currently deep-diving into the data to understand why.

The specification change was targeted at improving medium-high speed downforce, where the car had fallen steadily further behind its rivals in recent races. To achieve this aim, the whole mass of the bodywork has been brought forwards to create more free volume ahead of the rear wheels. This has entailed moving the cooling channels to create ‘cannons’ between the sidepods and engine cover.