The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team made a significant step forward during the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, recovering a competitive level of performance after several challenging races. The improvement was confirmed by team principal Toto Wolff, who acknowledged that reverting to an earlier technical package—specifically, an older suspension specification—played a crucial role in helping the team regain both performance and driver confidence.
At the Hungaroring circuit, British driver George Russell secured his sixth podium finish of the 2025 Formula 1 season, while his team-mate, the young Italian talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli, returned to the points-scoring positions by finishing in tenth place, adding another valuable point to his tally in his debut year.
The result achieved in Hungary marks a turning point for the Mercedes team, which had previously endured a period of fluctuating performances and a general lack of consistent race pace. The breakthrough came after a bold decision was taken within the engineering department: to abandon the development path introduced back in May and instead return to a more stable and proven technical configuration, which had delivered more predictable and effective results on track.
Toto Wolff admits that reverting to older suspension components helped Mercedes recover performance in Hungary
Toto Wolff explained the reasoning behind this strategic step back, offering insight into how the Brackley-based team identified the root of their performance issues and took decisive action to correct them. He revealed: “I think we tried to fix a problem with an upgrade introduced at the Imola Grand Prix, specifically a mechanical upgrade. But that may not have solved the original issue—in fact, it introduced something else. It brought in instability, which essentially took away all confidence from our drivers, and it took us a few races to fully understand what was going on.”
The Mercedes team principal also acknowledged that the victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal might have temporarily masked the car’s underlying issues. “Obviously, we were a little misled by the win in Montreal,” he admitted. “It gave us the impression that things weren’t so bad, but eventually we reached the conclusion that everything had to be perfect for that result to happen. Once we returned to the old setup, everything clicked again, and the car was back in great shape.”
The new rear axle package failed to deliver: “It’s going in the bin”
Toto Wolff did not mince words when evaluating the rear suspension development that had caused more harm than good to the car’s balance and performance. “The new rear axle? That’s going somewhere into a bin,” he said bluntly. “It wasn’t ideal. Updates are meant to improve the car’s performance, and we run numerous simulations and data analyses for every component on the car.”
However, the Mercedes boss emphasized that simulation data and real-world performance do not always align perfectly. He highlighted the difficulties in correlating digital tools with actual on-track behaviour. “And then, sometimes, you get it totally wrong. You have to go back to the analog world—fit it to the car and see what it actually does,” Wolff said. “If it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, that becomes a complicated case for everyone involved in Formula 1. How can you ensure there’s a perfect correlation between what the digital world tells you and what happens in the real world? This was one of those moments, and it’s the latest example of how it caught us all off guard.”
With the Hungarian Grand Prix result, the Mercedes Formula 1 team seems to have found a more solid foundation on which to build for the second half of the 2025 season. The recovery not only boosts morale but also offers renewed hope for stronger results in upcoming races.
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