Among the many themes that emerged from the first day of free practice in Australia, Mercedes’ performance stands out, probably the hardest factor to decipher behind McLaren after pre-season testing. The Brackley team ended the first day in the last spot of the top 10 in the qualifying simulation, while showing better impressions in race pace.
Indeed, Mercedes’ day can be split into two parts: on one hand, difficulties with softer compounds in search of lap time; on the other, more encouraging results with harder compounds during long runs. This issue was also mentioned by the drivers at the end of practice in Melbourne, particularly George Russell, who finished the day in tenth place.
The Brit confirmed that with the softest compound, the W16 struggled to extract the expected grip, highlighting a problem that could weigh heavily on the team’s ambitions tomorrow. While an increase in track grip is likely, given that Melbourne’s surface is often quite dirty on Fridays, a rise in temperatures is also expected—something the W15 also struggled with.
George Russell was almost nine-tenths off Charles Leclerc’s best time in FP2, trailing behind Aston Martin, Sauber, and both Racing Bulls, although the Faenza-based team used more aggressive engine modes. The external impression, confirmed by both drivers, is that the W16 showed more signs of struggle with the C5—the soft tire for the Australian weekend and also one of the most delicate compounds in the range.
Old problems seem to return with the C5
“It was a very inconsistent day because every time we put on the medium or hard tires, we were among the top positions and had a good feeling with each lap; we were confident. Then we put on the soft tires and didn’t go much faster,” Russell said at the end of the day.
However, the Briton believes there is still something to extract from the soft compound, as he felt more potential with the hard tires: “Clearly, we can get more out of the car, it’s just a matter of maximizing the tires—we need to understand why. Let’s see what we can do overnight.”
“If the session had ended on hard tires or stopped after the mediums in FP1, I would have said we were right up there. But obviously, qualifying isn’t done on hard or medium tires but on softs, and we don’t seem as competitive. I’m sure we’ll find improvements tonight,” George Russell added.
The main issue appears to be keeping the tires in the right operating window, particularly managing overheating over a lap. This was especially evident when drivers performed qualifying simulations, as track temperatures exceeded 40°C.
This also explains why the W16 was more comfortable on harder tires, particularly in long runs, where it posted interesting times. Notably, Mercedes has already used one of its two available sets of hard tires, a potential race tire. This suggests two possibilities: either the team is expecting a one-stop race due to low medium-tire degradation, or they are betting everything on a wet Grand Prix.
For much of practice, Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggled through the first chicane, as he couldn’t bring the tires into the optimal operating window, especially the hard compound. The Italian, who finished 16th in FP2, highlighted two aspects: the same difficulties Russell had with the C5 and his own inexperience with the compound.
“It was a pretty positive day; there’s some work to do on single-lap pace to bring the tires into the right window, but overall, I think it went quite well,” said Antonelli.
“I made a small mistake at the end, but overall, I feel increasingly confident, and I think the long run was quite positive today, so we’re definitely looking ahead to tomorrow. The C5 is a compound I’ve never used, so I’m still learning it, especially the warm-up phase, which is quite tricky, but we have good data for tomorrow.”
W16 more loaded but struggles in fast sections
Analyzing the data, some interesting elements emerge: partly due to a more loaded rear wing compared to rivals, the W16 loses several tenths on the straights. Additionally, there may be different engine mapping management compared to 2024, when Mercedes would push harder on Fridays than other manufacturers.
However, beyond this, the Brackley car appears to suffer from a lack of performance and tire support in medium- and high-speed corners, especially in Turn 6 and the fast 9/10 sequence, where the gap to other top teams becomes significant.
Performance in slow sections, however, seems more convincing—not far off McLaren’s pace, but still a step behind Ferrari. It’s important to note that over the winter, Mercedes engineers worked specifically to improve the car’s drivability in low-speed sections.
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