Mercedes’ innovative rear suspension package introduced at the Imola Grand Prix has yielded mixed results, leading to its complete abandonment by the time of the Hungarian Grand Prix. This suspension system aimed to reduce rear axle lift under load, maintaining a consistent floor height and thus ensuring stable downforce levels throughout a lap.
The solution showed promising signs in Montreal, where George Russell secured Mercedes’ first — and so far only — victory of the 2025 season. However, as explained by Mercedes’ track technical director Andrew Shovlin, the unique characteristics of the Canadian circuit masked inherent stability issues that reappeared during subsequent races.
Unlike Ferrari and McLaren, which have seen good results from similar suspension concepts, Mercedes faced challenges stemming from the limitations of their existing gearbox housing design. Unlike designing a fresh system from scratch, Mercedes had to integrate the new suspension with a gearbox casing that was not originally developed for this purpose. “Designing a suspension always involves compromises between aerodynamic needs, kinematics, and stiffness,” Shovlin said. “When the gearbox design is already set, those compromises become even more severe. And with the budget cap, you can’t just start over from zero.”
The technical reasons
Modern Formula 1 cars rely heavily on ground-effect floors that are extremely sensitive to ride height variations. Maintaining a consistent ride height is essential to achieving optimal aerodynamic performance throughout every phase of cornering. This concept dates back to the early 1980s when the Lotus 88 pioneered — albeit in a primitive form compared to today’s standards — the “twin chassis” system: a soft internal chassis combined with a rigid external frame designed to stabilise the Venturi tunnels and maximise ground-effect efficiency.
Current anti-lift rear suspension designs follow a similar philosophy, aiming to keep the car’s floor at a fixed static height to preserve aerodynamic efficiency. As gains from further floor development have become marginal, teams have increasingly invested in refining suspension kinematics to extend the ideal operating conditions of the floor.
Andrew Shovlin also noted that, beyond technical considerations, external factors influenced the decision to abandon the system. With the 2026 regulation overhaul approaching rapidly, many teams are dedicating their remaining wind tunnel hours to developing their next-generation cars, while simultaneously seeking performance gains in less explored areas.
Shovlin acknowledged that McLaren has pushed strongly in this direction, but for Mercedes, the risks outweighed the rewards. “In the end, we saw that the package was limiting us more than it was helping,” he concluded.
With the second half of the 2025 season underway and the team’s focus already on 2026, Mercedes is now prioritising more stable and reliable solutions to extract the maximum potential from the W16 during the final races under the current technical regulations.
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