In the race debrief following the Miami weekend, Mercedes technical director James Allison provided an update on the team’s current situation. After the first six rounds of the season, Mercedes is firmly second in the Constructors’ Championship, 105 points behind McLaren but 39 points ahead of Red Bull. George Russell’s fourth podium of the season brought him within six points of Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings, solidifying his fourth place.
The Miami weekend yielded a good haul of points, but just like in Jeddah, the car once again proved to be more competitive in qualifying than in the race.
“We didn’t have the pace we wanted,” Allison confirmed. “At the moment, we have a good balance in qualifying between front and rear which allows us to use the tyres well. But in the race, the tyres heat up more than we’d like, and this forces our drivers to slow the pace to manage temperatures. And slowing down isn’t exactly high on the list of things you want to do when you’re managing a race car.”
James Allison emphasized that the W16 has been a work in progress for some time, even if the more visible technical updates will appear in upcoming races.
“In reality, we’ve already introduced some updates—perhaps not major or eye-catching ones—but they’ve been coming in gradually. Others, more noticeable ones, will arrive in the coming races and with a bit of luck, I hope they’ll help improve the car’s performance.”
“The main focus has been to maintain our race pace, trying to replicate on Sunday what we achieve on Saturday. The priority is tyre temperature control—this is crucial to allow the car to deliver the pace it has.”
“Kimi will gain confidence after Miami qualifying”
James Allison also spoke about the work done by Kimi Antonelli over the Miami weekend. “I think the joy on everyone’s faces in the garage after Friday’s pole position was quite clear. It was a real pleasure but… rather short-lived, because the Sprint weekend format forces you to focus immediately on the next race or qualifying session. I know Kimi was disappointed with his Sprint Race start, but he should rightly be satisfied with his qualifying performance—and I believe he was.”
“What happened during the Sprint Race pit stop wasn’t his fault at all. I’d also add that in terms of experience, he took home a lot that will be useful in the future. He’ll gain a huge amount of confidence knowing he was genuinely fast in qualifying.”
Even in the Grand Prix, Antonelli’s pit stop wasn’t particularly quick, as Allison explained. “Kimi didn’t have the luckiest pit stop, that’s for sure. One thing we had made very clear was that we wouldn’t release him if another car was approaching closely. Unfortunately, Sainz was crawling down the pit lane just as we were ready to release, so we had to hold Kimi for a couple of seconds while Carlos passed.”
“The day before, we saw what happened when Red Bull released Verstappen right as Kimi was arriving, ruining his Sprint Race and even compromising their own. It must be kept in mind that aggressive behavior in those moments puts the lives and safety of pit lane crew at risk.”
James Allison finally analyzed why Kimi Antonelli couldn’t maintain a strong pace during the second stint of the Grand Prix. “The hard compound proved durable but slower in performance. It’s difficult to know how much to push—if you go too hard, the tyres overheat and degrade earlier than expected; but if you don’t push enough, they don’t enter the window where they provide good grip.”
“Kimi wasn’t able to find the right compromise between those two extremes, but let’s not forget he’s only raced a handful of Grands Prix. I think the progress we’ve seen in him is really evident, and all these challenges are valuable opportunities that he’s seizing to grow and improve for the coming seasons.”
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