Mercedes, one of the surprises of the F1 season. Without Lewis Hamilton, the three-pointed star has been sufficiently competitive in the early stages of the world championship. Three podiums achieved by Russell and four points finishes by Kimi Antonelli are a good record considering the pre-season predictions. The British driver is showing that he deserves a contract renewal, thanks to truly consistent performances.
It was thought that 2025 would be a transition year for the team led by Toto Wolff, waiting for the new technical regulations to potentially disrupt the balance of power observed in the previous season. Instead, the W16 seems to be a car with the potential to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari. This is not an obvious scenario, as explained by Simone Resta, the deputy technical director of the Silver Arrows.
W16, an excellent score in the first five races
In the “Race Debriefing” podcast, the Italian engineer highlighted the improvement in the team’s score compared to the previous season. Russell and Antonelli have accumulated twice as many points as last season after five races of the championship (111 points versus 52 in 2024). This is despite not having any pole positions or victories so far.
The performance this season is the best since the current technical regulations were introduced. It’s not just about the number of points collected, but the results achieved on the field. The W16 at the start is undoubtedly the best wing car produced at Brackley. It’s undeniable that the Anglo-German team has not successfully interpreted the regulatory framework that will conclude with this season.
The five victories in just over three years of regulatory continuity are proof of this. All of Mercedes’ direct competitors have done better, according to the numbers, over the same period. McLaren, a customer of Mercedes’ power units, has even made a comeback after years of mediocrity.
Mercedes, Jeddah a warning sign?
The sour note of this season start is the recent race at the Jeddah speedway. After an excellent qualifying session, expectations for the 300-kilometer race with a full tank were in line with the previous rounds: another podium finish, especially after Norris’ mistake. However, after just a few laps, it became clear that George didn’t have the pace of Piastri and Norris.
Mercedes was caught off guard by the excessive tire degradation, which was expertly managed by Charles Leclerc. The long stint by the Monegasque driver, with lap times comparable to the two front-runners, left no chance for car number 63, which even lost position to Lando Norris. Simone Resta admitted that the race result was below expectations, as was the tire degradation, which was much more pronounced than the simulations had indicated.
In this sense, Miami will be a crucial test. Firstly, temperatures are expected to be as high as those in Jeddah, if not higher. Moreover, the next weekend will be the second sprint weekend of the season. This means there will only be one session to verify the data correlation. After that, all the following sessions will be competitive. Mercedes’ deputy technical director is not hiding the challenge ahead.
The goal is to maintain the results achieved so far. The former technical director of Haas explained that, in Miami, the Brackley team wants to get back to fighting for the podium, replicating the competitiveness shown in the first rounds of the season. To follow through with this ambition, they will have to contend with fierce competition, including the newly reinvigorated Ferrari, following Charles Leclerc‘s strong performance in Saudi Arabia.
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