Amidst all the stories in Formula 1 this season, arguably the biggest adjustment was seeing Lewis Hamilton drive for Ferrari. The 7-time Champion’s move to the Scuderia was easily one of the biggest signings in history – not just in F1, but in sport more generally.
Mercedes were initially caught completely off guard by the announcement. After all, Hamilton had agreed to a contract extension with Mercedes only a few months before.
Regardless, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was forced to adapt and find a replacement for the 2025 season.
This made 2024 slightly awkward at the Silver Arrows, as Hamilton’s relationship with the team slowly deteriorated.
Still, with both sides having moved on, Wolff retains a good relationship with his former driver – and shares the scars from the infamous Abu Dhabi 2021.
Toto Wolff talks about infamous Michael Masi decision
One of the other big announcements in 2025 was the firing of Christian Horner. The British team principal’s 20-year reign at Milton Keynes came to an abrupt end this summer.
Laurent Mekies replaced him, and to his credit did an outstanding job in reviving Red Bull’s campaign.
Of course, Horner and Wolff were commonly at odds with each other. Throughout the late 2010s, it was Wolff who enjoyed consistent title-winning success – often at Red Bull’s expense.
Horner got his revenge in brutal fashion at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, though, when a controversial decision from Michael Masi changed the course of the Championship.
This incident added more fuel to an already very contentious rivalry. Speaking to The Telegraph, Toto Wolff says he still discusses Abu Dhabi ’21 with Hamilton:
“We haven’t got over it. I talked to Lewis about it yesterday. I think about it every day and so does he – and it’s stayed with the team, too.
“Both were deserving champions, but the referee made a bad call, to use a football analogy, and you can’t reverse it. The goal has been scored, the game is finished.
“He [Christian Horner] was never able to admit it.
“I try to look at it from the other side, and from their point of view, they deserved to be world champions.
“They had had some incidents that were unfair to them throughout the season, and the outcome of that race is a fair representation of the performance levels during the season.
“But Christian was never able to admit the same – that if it was the other way round and had happened to them that day, it would have been catastrophic.”
Mercedes put all their eggs into 2026
Whilst the wounds of 2021 might still be fresh, Toto Wolff’s focus is firmly on the 2026 rule change.
To some degree, Mercedes have been working exclusively towards next year for some time. From an aerodynamic perspective, the Brackley-based operation dedicated most of this year’s wind tunnel time on the upcoming regulations.
Very few updates were brought to this year’s W16. Having resigned to Red Bull and McLaren being out of reach in 2025, the choice was made to essentially sacrifice this season.
Many teams had a similar approach, especially those in the midfield with less to lose. Critically, though, Mercedes have spent much longer working on their 2026 power units.
Toto Wolff’s team, arguably more than anyone else, understand the value of starting strong with new regulations. In 2014, the supremacy of the Mercedes power unit created a massive advantage that rivals spent years scrambling to bridge.
It was not until 2021, the final year before ground effect cars, that Honda caught up to Mercedes power.
With this in mind, all eyes are on the German constructor to produce the fastest engine. This is something Wolff has tried to downplay, though this can hardly be used as evidence for anything other than management of expectations.
For the time being, Mercedes carry the unofficial title of early favourites heading into the rules change. At the same time, other engine manufacturers should not be discounted.
From an aerodynamic perspective, there is always the possibility for another top team – or even a midfield outfit – to find something that everyone else overlooked in the regulations.
This puts immense pressure on Mercedes, after a frustrating few years, to live up to expectations in 2026.
READ MORE: Leclerc must capitalise on “now or never” 2026 regulations
Main photo: Sebastian Kawka (Mercedes F1 Archive)
