Lewis Hamilton, who finished 0.6 seconds behind the leader in qualifying, is disappointed that his gap to the leaders remains the same despite the updates.
Mercedes has brought its last major updates for this season to Austin and has made significant changes to the car. There are updates to the front wing, the rear wing and the floor. There are significant changes, especially on the floor.
With the updates to the base, Mercedes has reportedly been able to lower the ride height of the vehicle. There has also been an improvement in terms of feel. Indeed, Lewis Hamilton said on Friday that he "definitely felt an improvement" in the updated W13.
The champion driver, who said he had to deal with understeer in qualifying, said it was "difficult" for them "to keep the gap the same despite everyone working so hard".
"I felt very good from the beginning of the weekend, I had a good feeling in the car, I was feeling good yesterday in practice 1, even in the tire tests in practice 2 [I was feeling good]."
"This morning was just as good. Then in qualifying I started to have a complete backslide, I was struggling, I kept trying to catch the rear."
"We made a change mechanically and I think it made a big difference. Maybe it's because the temperature dropped."
"We're 0.6 seconds behind the leader. For everyone to work so hard on these updates and the gap is still the same... It's difficult for us."
