At the second race of the season, George Russell brought the Mercedes W17 to just 0.979 seconds off the Shanghai track record, proving that this new era of F1 is capable of delivering top-level performance and silencing any doubts. The black and silver arrow will take center stage tomorrow thanks to the undeniable superiority of its power unit, but it would be wrong not to consider the rest of the package as well.
Mercedes fears no competition. The team had dominated in Australia, where the internal combustion engine’s qualities highlighted the performance of the power unit on a track like Melbourne, which is challenging for electric energy recovery. But Mercedes also made a clean sweep in China at the conclusion of Sprint Qualifying, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finishing just behind, relentlessly second.
The W17 rockets the moment it hits the track, and the Brackley team, despite having only one practice session, took the luxury of running a long run, confirming that their supremacy isn’t just in a single lap but also shines in race pace, keeping the risk of graining under control — still a lingering threat.
On a track less atypical than the one that marked the debut of the new F1 era, the black and silver arrow provided a clear demonstration of its value: George, switching from medium to soft tires, delivered a 1:31.520 — just 0.979 seconds off the 2005 pole record.
This new F1 era has dispelled doubts about competitiveness at the second event of the season, and it’s likely we won’t have to wait long for more records to fall. And they didn’t push the Brixworth power unit to its limits (there’s no need); they ran it at a 3.5 map on a scale that goes up to 5.0.
This indicates that Toto Wolff’s drivers still have performance in reserve, and fearing reliability risks, there’s no need for unnecessary bravado. Beyond the 341 km/h peak reached by Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull (perhaps with a tow?), Mercedes-powered cars dominate: Albon (Williams) 340 km/h, Gasly (Alpine) 339 km/h, Colapinto (Alpine) 338 km/h, and Sainz (Williams) 337 km/h. Fast, very fast, but with little downforce to think about being at the front.
“We have a great car,” Lewis Hamilton revealed. “We can compete with the Mercedes in corners, but when we’re on the straights, where power counts, there’s nothing to do…” The seven-time world champion throws up his arms, but it would be a mistake to attribute everything only to horsepower, as Russell and Antonelli reached 335 km/h, while Lewis lagged behind at a peak of 330 km/h.
This time, the McLarens were stronger too (Oscar Piastri 333 km/h and Lando Norris 331 km/h): the world champion in the MCL40 managed to be, third, the fastest of the rest, by just 0.020 seconds. This shows that Woking is starting to master hybrid management, since Brixworth has kept the secrets of energy recovery to themselves, tired of seeing customer teams beat the factory team. The hardware is identical for all supplied teams, but software interpretation is much more flexible. And it’s no coincidence that as soon as Andrea Stella’s staff opened their eyes, there was a rapid turnaround. But it would be too simplistic to reduce everything to just a question of the engine.
By the way, Stella’s team confirms that there will be no need to intervene on engine 2 to meet compression ratio checks at high temperatures (starting June 1, 16.7:1 thanks to oil tolerances at 130°C), nor is there a need to touch the already-homologated Petronas fuel.
However, the mistake that rivals — Ferrari first and foremost — must not make is to think that Mercedes’ supremacy comes solely from the power unit. The W17 is a well-designed car in the hands of James Allison and Simone Resta. Tomorrow, Lewis Hamilton, propelled by the smaller turbo will be able to lead the Sprint Race, but how many laps can he stay in front? That will be the real test, because today’s six-tenths gap may sting more than the eight-tenths in Melbourne qualifying.
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