Mercedes struggling in Hungary: the W16 returns to pre-Imola configuration, Kimi Antonelli comments on the situation
Among the top four teams on the Formula 1 grid, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team has experienced the most consistent difficulties since the start of the European leg of the season. The only podium finishes achieved so far were in Montreal, with George Russell securing a victory and young Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing in third place.
The team’s disappointing results coincided with the introduction of a new rear suspension package at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. However, due to balance issues experienced by both drivers, Mercedes temporarily shelved the upgrade for the subsequent races in Monaco and Barcelona.
The team reintroduced the updated suspension components for the Canadian Grand Prix, which turned out to be their strongest weekend of the 2025 season thus far. Encouraged by that performance, Mercedes kept the upgrade in place for the races in Austria, Silverstone, and Belgium. But now, heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix, the rear suspension update has once again been removed from both W16 cars.
Mercedes is currently in the process of scaling back the rear suspension upgrade in order to better understand the cause of the clear drop in performance that followed the strong showing in Montreal.
The driver who seems to have been most impacted by the upgrade is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Since his third-place finish in Canada, the 18-year-old has failed to score any points in the last seven Formula 1 Grand Prix races.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli reflects on Canada and the handling of the W16
Looking back on his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli offered his perspective on why the car felt particularly strong that weekend:
“Montreal is a very special circuit,” Antonelli explained. “It offers high grip levels and features a fairly smooth and compact asphalt surface. In essence, the track consists of a series of heavy braking zones at the end of straights followed by chicanes. These characteristics require the car to be properly set up in the first part of each section to allow for strong acceleration in the second part.”
“The new suspension system worked really well in those conditions—particularly for braking in a straight line and for combined traction phases,” added Antonelli. “The traction out of the chicanes was especially strong, so those upgrades were the perfect match for Montreal. That’s why I think we were so competitive that weekend. It was the key factor. Montreal is a very particular circuit, and it really suited our suspension system. Above all, it didn’t have high-speed combined corners that typically give us trouble.”
Mercedes reverts to previous specification in Hungary after Spa struggles
Following a particularly challenging race at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Mercedes has decided to revert both cars to the pre-Imola suspension configuration for the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
“This weekend, we’ll go back to the old suspension setup, and hopefully that will help us recover the good feeling we had earlier in the year,” said Antonelli. “Ever since we switched to the new suspension system—aside from Canada—I’ve had real difficulty driving the car and building confidence.”
The Italian rookie admitted that part of the problem may be related to his own driving style and his approach to adapting to the car:
“Probably, I didn’t adapt in the best way. I kept trying to stick to my natural style and drive the way I prefer, but it simply wasn’t working. George Russell, on the other hand, managed to adapt more quickly. He has a different driving style and seems to be more flexible in these situations.”
“That’s what hurt me the most during the European part of the season. I really hope that by returning to the old suspension setup, I can regain the driving confidence I had before the European rounds started.”
Aggressive driving style made the W16 even more unpredictable
Andrea Kimi Antonelli believes that his naturally aggressive driving style only added to the W16’s unpredictability and took some responsibility for how he managed the situation over the last several races.
“If you have confidence in yourself and you know that things will work, it can make a real difference. But in my case, especially with my driving style, I think I just made the car more unpredictable, and I didn’t have that self-confidence anymore,” said the young Italian driver.
“Every time I tried to push a bit harder, the car couldn’t keep up with the pace or started sending signals that made me feel it wouldn’t make it through the lap,” he explained.
“That’s why I tried to change my driving style. I attempted to adapt to the car instead of forcing it to suit me. I don’t think I did a great job with that. I just hope the old suspension setup helps me rediscover the feeling of driving at my best,” Kimi Antonelli concluded.
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