Toto Wolff has described the Italian Grand Prix as one of Mercedes’ best weekends of the 2026 Formula 1 season, but the team principal insists the dominant Monza one-two is already in the past as attention shifts to a very different challenge in Madrid. Kimi Antonelli’s extraordinary home victory, backed up by second place for George Russell, delivered the maximum result for Mercedes before Formula 1 heads to the new Madring circuit.
Mercedes arrives in the Spanish capital after an unforgettable weekend at Monza, where the Italian crowd celebrated an unexpected home victory for Kimi Antonelli. Starting from the back of the grid, the championship leader produced a remarkable recovery that eventually brought him onto the rear of George Russell’s car in the closing stages before he passed his team-mate with only a few laps remaining.
Toto Wolff calls Monza one of Mercedes’ best weekends of 2026
Kimi Antonelli’s charge was made even more impressive by an error at the exit of the Prima Variante that cost him several seconds. Despite that setback, the Italian recovered the lost ground and completed the comeback, securing a memorable victory and a Mercedes one-two.
“Monza was one of our best weekends of the season, and an important result for everyone at Brixworth and Brackley,” Toto Wolff said. “The team worked excellently, the drivers delivered a great performance and we got the maximum out of our package.”
“We can be satisfied, but that chapter is now closed: as soon as we left Italy, we turned our attention to Madrid.”
The result carried particular significance because an Italian driver had not won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for 60 years. For Mercedes, however, the emotional significance of Kimi Antonelli’s victory and the one-two finish cannot distract from the next task.
Mercedes faces a completely different challenge at Madring
Formula 1 will race at Madrid’s new Madring circuit for the first time, creating a fresh challenge for every team and driver. Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell have completed simulator work in preparation for their first competitive laps around the Spanish venue.
Toto Wolff believes the characteristics of Madrid will be significantly different from those of Monza and instead bear more resemblance to circuits where a wider variety of cornering performance is required.
“This weekend presents a completely different challenge,” Toto Wolff explained. “The circuit characteristics are much more similar to tracks such as Budapest or Zandvoort. We therefore expect a very closely fought weekend.”
“Our task is to understand the demands of the Madrid circuit as quickly as possible and maximise performance from the very first session. New circuits offer opportunities and unknowns in equal measure.”
Why Mercedes cannot assume its Monza advantage will continue in Madrid
Mercedes was able to extract virtually everything from its package at the Italian Grand Prix, where both drivers were extremely competitive and ultimately finished first and second. Madrid, however, presents a different set of demands, meaning the balance of performance seen at Monza cannot simply be carried over to the next round.
The comparison with Budapest and Zandvoort is particularly significant because those circuits require a different compromise from the low-drag, high-speed configuration demanded by Monza. Mercedes will therefore need to establish the correct operating window quickly on a circuit where every Formula 1 team begins without previous Grand Prix data.
The Zandvoort weekend also produced an important strategic lesson for Mercedes earlier in the season, when the team’s approach involving its two drivers became a major talking point after the Dutch Grand Prix strategy involving Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
For Madrid, preparation in the simulator can provide an important baseline, but the real understanding of tyre behaviour, grip evolution and set-up requirements will only begin once the cars take to the circuit.
Toto Wolff welcomes Formula 1’s arrival in Madrid
Toto Wolff also praised the Spanish capital’s commitment to joining Formula 1, viewing the arrival of Madring as evidence of the championship’s continued global momentum.
“Madrid is a world-class city and racing there represents another significant step forward for our sport,” the Mercedes team principal said. “The fact that an iconic capital such as Madrid wants to become part of the calendar demonstrates the strength of our sport and the momentum we continue to generate around the world.”
The new Madrid event takes its place on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar immediately after one of Mercedes’ strongest performances of the campaign.
For Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, however, Monza’s one-two offers no guarantee that the same advantage will carry over. Mercedes now has to learn an entirely new circuit and understand its requirements faster than its rivals, with Toto Wolff expecting the competitive order to be much tighter than it was in Italy.
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