Mercedes endured a weekend to forget at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, with Technical Director James Allison openly admitting the team’s shortcomings. Describing it as “one of the worst weekends of the year,” Allison did not mince words, acknowledging that Mercedes had effectively caused their own problems through recent development choices and setup decisions.
The team’s race debrief following one of their most difficult events of the season highlighted several critical issues. At the core were balance problems, poorly judged aerodynamic setups, and an overall drop in competitiveness compared to the early part of the campaign.
During the Sprint race, everything seemed to go wrong from the start, beginning with qualifying. Andrea Kimi Antonelli ran off into the gravel, damaging his front wing and floor, while George Russell also picked up damage to his floor after running over debris on the track. Allison explained that although data showed some degradation for Russell due to the gravel excursion, the bigger issue was an aerodynamic imbalance caused by the setup rather than the damage itself.
Compounding these difficulties in both qualifying and the race was the choice to run a lower downforce rear wing than their rivals. While this gave Mercedes a slight advantage on the long straights at Spa, it severely compromised their performance in the more technical sections of the circuit, especially the middle sector. “It seemed like we suffered the most there, but actually we were slow everywhere,” Allison explained. “The DRS effect is reduced at Spa because the rear wing is smaller than usual; there is less drag to remove, so less gain from activating DRS.”
Mercedes sinks in Belgium, but a way forward is close
Comparing their performance with that of Ferrari, James Allison noted, “When it looks like everyone else has improved and you’ve slipped backwards, most of the time it’s because you’ve made your car worse by that amount.”
The conclusion was clear: the Mercedes W16 has deteriorated following recent development updates. “It’s disheartening to put in a lot of effort to improve the car and end up making it worse. But if you are the reason for that decline, like in our case, it’s relatively easier to fix—you just retrace your steps and identify which decisions were wrong.” The team is aiming to reverse this negative trend at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, right before the summer break.
James Allison’s candid assessment provides insight into Mercedes’ current struggles and highlights the team’s determination to regroup and find solutions quickly to regain their competitiveness in the highly demanding 2025 Formula 1 season.
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