In the last three races, from Imola to Barcelona, Mercedes collected only 18 points. A disappointing haul, also tied to a lack of performance and degradation issues, which, according to Allison, stem from how the car was set up, demanding too much from the rear. In addition, a reliability issue—unusual for the Silver Arrows—has emerged.
Eighteen points earned in three races, two retirements due to reliability issues, updates shelved, and performances that failed to convince, especially over race distance. Without a doubt, the last triple header didn’t go as Mercedes had hoped and turned out at times to be disastrous, even costing them second place in the Constructors’ Championship to Ferrari.
It was a clear step backward compared to the early races of the season when, despite not always having the most competitive car after McLaren, they managed to capitalize well on opportunities, bringing home crucial results and points for the championship—where the clear goal was second place more than the title.
The season is still long, but what went wrong in the last triple header for Mercedes? James Allison discussed this, providing interesting insights into the difficulties faced from Imola to Barcelona, including the disappointing double zero in Monaco, which stemmed from qualifying incidents that dashed any hopes of shining in the Principality.
A pace “not even remotely comparable”
“The mood in the team? I’d say mixed. A bit reflective. I’d say from Barcelona there were some aspects of our approach to the weekend and the car’s performance in very hot track conditions that give us some optimism for the future,” said the British trackside engineer in the usual post-race Mercedes debrief.
“But we’re all rather burned by the retirements and by having gone through the triple header without scoring points at a pace not even remotely comparable to the early races of the year. Fingers crossed for the future—I wouldn’t want to go through these three races again in the same way.”
Until Bahrain, the W16 was undoubtedly the most consistent car among McLaren’s chasers—probably not the fastest, a role that belonged to Red Bull, but still the most consistent, in a championship where consistency could make the difference. Moreover, it often made single-lap pace its strength, sometimes even entering the fight for pole.
Not only did the car’s performance no longer seem affected by the annoying porpoising, but there also appeared to be improvements in tire management, even in GPs where last year Mercedes had shown weaknesses. However, in Saudi Arabia came the season’s first real setback, with a disastrous race in which they “cooked” the tires, revealing extreme degradation.
An issue even Mercedes didn’t expect, and which didn’t recur in Miami—despite Pirelli bringing very soft compounds and the high temperatures, which actually challenged Red Bull’s thermal management more than it had in Jeddah. Aided by a Virtual Safety Car, George Russell secured a strong podium—the last notable result before the triple header.
Pending judgment on some updates
In an effort to improve rear tire management—also a problem in Saudi Arabia—Mercedes arrived at Imola, the first race of the triple header, with major technical changes, including a redesigned rear suspension at the mounting points.
However, the lack of performance in that race, as well as the excessive degradation that even led George Russell to think something was broken on the car, pushed Mercedes to revert to the old spec for Monaco, maintaining it in Spain too, where further floor tweaks were introduced.
Beyond the update issue—with the rear suspension to be re-evaluated later after more analysis—Allison believes that the core problem slowing Mercedes was the setup choices made for Imola and Monaco, which they partly corrected in Barcelona.
“I think the most important thing from these three races is that we got the first two wrong in the way we set up the car. We asked too much from the rear and suffered badly as a result. So, we approached Barcelona with a slightly different mindset.”
Too much was demanded from the rear
Indeed, especially at Imola, Mercedes suffered from rear tire degradation, visible from the opening laps. In Monaco, they were also forced to completely overhaul the car setup before qualifying, but problems in that session prevented them from properly assessing the changes. Barcelona, with its aggressive tarmac, sweeping corners, and high temperatures, typically challenges rear tire management.
“On a track that would’ve destroyed our tires if we had tackled it with the same setup as Imola and Monaco, we were instead able to be closer to our potential. So looking ahead, knowing we can do more in that direction and keep pushing that approach in the upcoming races, I think that’s a positive,” said Allison.
Although it’s true that the W16 didn’t impress in Barcelona, in a race that could’ve easily turned into a predicted disaster, the Brackley car wasn’t too far off Ferrari. In fact, in the final stint on soft tires, Russell was closing in on Charles Leclerc, though the Ferrari driver was on mediums—not exactly the most effective compound.
Reliability concerns also emerge
Beyond the lack of performance, the last triple header also highlighted another issue: reliability. Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire in both Imola and Barcelona due to mechanical failures, and George Russell also experienced a problem during qualifying in Monaco.
While the issues in Imola and Monte Carlo were linked to minor elements like a sensor or wiring, the failure Antonelli suffered in Spain raises greater concern—especially since the Mercedes PU has long been one of the most reliable on the grid. Moreover, customer teams are also experiencing reliability problems, like Aston Martin, which retired in Monaco due to a hybrid system failure.
Antonelli will realistically need a new engine—beyond the allowed allocation—before the end of the season, especially since the second unit failed rather early in its life cycle: “This puts pressure on the engine rotation. We could install a new power unit at the next race weekend without incurring penalties. But obviously, we’re only a third of the way through the year… well, a bit more. So this will put a lot of pressure on managing the remaining units,” said Allison.
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