George Russell took his sixth podium of the season in Hungary with an impressive performance, hunting down Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to finish as ‘best of the rest’ behind the McLaren’s.
Russell’s podium was reminiscent of his form in the first six races of 2025, where he claimed four podiums and never finished below fifth.
This strong start was undone after Mercedes introduced updates that failed to improve the W16.
Aside from Russell’s win in Canada, which in hindsight seems largely the consequence of circuit-specific characteristics, Mercedes have struggled in recent months.
Kimi Antonelli best exemplifies this, with the Italian taking just one point in the last four race weekends.
Mercedes happier with current version of W16
For the last four seasons, teams have often worked on upgrades that failed to yield the desired improvements.
The nature of the 2022 regulations and this ground-effect era is that development tools are trickier to utilise.
Data from the wind tunnel must be taken with caution, whilst simulator work must be extremely effective to ensure updates do not backfire.
Mercedes learnt this lesson the hard way, starting the 2022 season with a flawed concept.
The Brackley team failed to differentiate hypothetical downforce in the wind tunnel with usable downforce on track.
Because of this, Mercedes were forced to completely change their assumptions with these cars.
Since James Allison returned as Technical Director in 2023, the Silver Arrows’ trajectory has been more steady.
With that said, the last few months have seen Toto Wolff’s team fall into a familiar trap.
After introducing a new rear suspension earlier in the year, the German team have reverted to the original version.
This is something both drivers, particularly Antonelli, welcomed at the Hungarian GP.
In Mercedes’ Dutch GP preview, Wolff outlined his expectations for the second half of 2025:
“We start the run to the end of the season, and this current era of regulations, determined to end both strongly.
“It will be an intense 10 races as we fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship and simultaneously focus on 2026.
“Whilst we won’t be bringing any more major developments to this year’s car, the progress we made in Hungary gives us a good platform to work with.”
Focus on 2026 for Mercedes
Perhaps more than any other team, Mercedes have been the recipient of significant expectations ahead of 2026.
The likes of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz have shown optimism about the new Mercedes engine.
With Red Bull on the decline and switching to their own engine programme, Toto Wolff’s team are seen as early favourites.
As ever, such hype must be controlled. The 2026 regulations represent a massive overhaul in every department, from power units to aerodynamics.
In this sense, no team can be completely confident about their performance next year.
Even if the Mercedes engine proves very strong, there will be other customer teams for the Silver Arrows to reckon with.
McLaren, Williams and Alpine would all benefit if the factory in Brixworth produces a top engine.
There are also rival manufacturers, like Honda and Ferrari, that cannot be discounted.
Arguably the more pressing concern for Mercedes is extending George Russell and Kimi Antonelli’s contract.
This dilemma is largely self-inflicted, with Toto Wolff spending some time in negotiations with Max Verstappen.
Securing the team’s line-up for next year, therefore, is a priority.
Main photo: Jiri Krenek (via Mercedes media gallery)
