The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team is experiencing a highly inconsistent 2025 season, marked by both encouraging highs and frustrating lows. After a victorious performance at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal, where both drivers delivered strong results, expectations were high heading into Austria. However, the weekend at the Red Bull Ring turned out to be a major disappointment — but according to the team, it may have been all part of a larger strategic plan.
The Austrian Grand Prix produced a result far below expectations for Mercedes. Following the team’s success in Canada, where even the second driver secured a podium finish, fans and analysts alike expected Mercedes to build momentum. The W16, the latest evolution of the Silver Arrows’ Formula 1 car, is undoubtedly a step forward compared to last season’s machinery. Nevertheless, performance during the first half of the championship has been erratic — a frustrating scenario for a team aiming to return to championship contention.
After the strong showing in Montréal, no one anticipated such a lackluster outing in Austria, where George Russell crossed the finish line more than 60 seconds behind the race winner. Or at least, the public didn’t expect it — within Mercedes, however, it seems it may have been a calculated decision.
“I was expecting a tough race, but it turned out even worse than I imagined,” said George Russell after the race.
He went on to explain the root cause of the poor performance: “The issue is clear — in Canada, where tyre overheating was not a factor, we were the fastest team. But as soon as we arrive at a circuit where there’s even a bit of thermal degradation, our pace drops significantly. The team has been working extremely hard for six months to solve this problem. We have some ideas, but we’re not making major progress at the moment.”
George Russell also highlighted the specific challenges of the Red Bull Ring weekend: “It was a perfect storm — one of the roughest tarmac surfaces of the season, a high-speed layout, the highest lap count of the year, and 50 degrees Celsius track temperature.”
What happened in Austria?
It’s increasingly evident that high track temperatures continue to be a major weakness for the W16. This is not the first time the Brackley-based team has suffered under such conditions. The car’s difficulty managing tyre thermal degradation remains a persistent limitation. While the W16 is clearly competitive, it operates within an extremely narrow performance window, which severely restricts its effectiveness across different circuit profiles.
Earlier in the season, Mercedes opted not to bring major updates immediately, preferring instead to analyze the baseline behavior of the new car. As the season progressed, significant developments were introduced — including a new rear suspension concept — but these upgrades required time to be fully calibrated. Several circuits with unfavourable layouts for the W16, combined with continuous test sessions to validate updates, have cost Mercedes both valuable championship points and much-needed consistency. There is now speculation that the team may have already started diverting resources toward the 2026 project, effectively writing off 2025.
Mercedes Used the Austrian GP to Test the W16
Statements from Team Principal Toto Wolff confirmed what many had suspected: the Austrian Grand Prix weekend was intentionally used as a real-time test session for experimental setups and data collection, potentially to inform development strategies for the upcoming regulatory overhaul in 2026.
“The only positive aspect of this weekend is that we tried something extreme,” Wolff admitted. “It worked in Montréal, but here it clearly didn’t. We could have used last year’s setup and maybe — who knows — we would’ve ended up on the podium.”
He added: “Our long runs looked decent, but as track temperatures rose and grip levels increased, we probably should have stuck with what we already knew.”
“We tried to carry over setup and aero-mechanical balance concepts from Barcelona and Montréal, but it turned out to be the wrong decision. At least now we can rule out that path. It would have been a disaster if we were fighting for race wins or the championship, but that’s not the case right now.”
Wolff’s comments suggest that Mercedes is already shifting its development focus toward the 2026 Formula 1 regulations — a new era that could represent a reset for the German manufacturer. According to paddock rumors, the team from Brackley is currently one of the most advanced in developing the next-generation power unit for 2026 and may already enjoy a significant head start over its rivals.
Given this context, it would not be surprising if Mercedes opted to strategically deprioritize its 2025 season in order to avoid repeating the underwhelming start to the ground-effect era in 2022. Betting on a strong 2026 comeback, the team appears to be playing the long game.
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