Everything Trackside

After a challenging few years during the ground effect era, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team is going into the 2026 season with newfound confidence. Finishing P2 last year in the constructors’ standings, they are looking to pick up where they left off and dominate the grid once again.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

It was the Brackley outfit’s first year without their long-time driver Lewis Hamilton, who had been in the team for 12 years. Despite that, the 2025 season for Mercedes saw podiums, challenges, and adjustments in the team’s dynamic. Most notable being a Mercedes double podium during the Canadian GP. This saw George take P1 and Kimi P3 during the race.

While the focus was on the 2025 season, the team was also looking ahead to 2026 and the new regulations. With both Kimi’s and George’s contracts closing by the end of 2025, Toto Wolff and the team were under pressure to decide their lineup for this year. There was a lot of controversy and questions surrounding who would be driving for the Silver Arrows for the upcoming season. Many speculated it would be the 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen joining either of the existing Mercedes drivers. Rumours were finally put to rest ahead of the US Grand Prix after Mercedes announced they would be retaining both Russell and Antonelli.

Mercedes is going into the season without any changes to the core driver lineup, with Russell and Antonelli in the cars. The only notable change in the lineup is that Fred Vesti was promoted as a third driver in place of Valtteri Bottas who returned to the grid as a full-time driver for Cadillac. With a strong team and a dependable car, the Brackley outfit are seen as favourites for the constructors’ championship this season.

George Russell

Russell is entering his 8th year in Formula 1 after finishing P4 in the championship standings last season. Throughout his last campaign, Russell showed that he was arguably the most consistent driver on the grid. The Brit missed out on completing every lap of the season by just two laps after being overtaken by the leaders in Monaco. Despite the temperamental W16, the Mercedes driver managed to score 319 points in the championship. This included 2 wins, 9 podiums, and consistent top 10 finishes, his worst finish of the season being Monaco with P11. The British driver stayed in the mathematical championship fight up until the last couple of races. Since Hamilton’s departure, the 28-year-old has become an undisputed leader at Mercedes, having taken on the main driver role. Strong performances both on and off the track throughout the season has proved Russell as the worthy number 1 driver. As a result, the #63 driver secured a multi-year contract extension.

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, George is many fans’ favourite to win the championship. This is not only because of the car Mercedes has built, but also the consistency, improvement, and skill he has shown throughout his racing career.

Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli was promoted from the team’s driver academy to replace Lewis Hamilton for 2025. As the young Italian going into his second year in Formula 1, eyes will definitely be on him. The young rookie proved himself to be more than up to the challenge of driving the W16. He started the season strong by finishing 4th in Australia. The Italian became the youngest pole-sitter in any format after qualifying for the Miami sprint race, which he went on to finish 7th after a poor start. Regardless, his first season was not without troubles. The pressure inevitably got to the young rookie, resulting in a rocky mid-season before the summer break. With several DNFs and even a crash with Max Verstappen during the Austrian GP, his confidence was knocked. However, the team rallied around him and with the support from Bono and the wider team, he slowly regained his confidence once again. The second half of the season saw the number #12 driver make a comeback. Determined to prove himself, he culminated consecutive podium finishes, including sprint race P3 and a Grand Prix P2 in Brazil and P3 in Las Vegas. Kimi ended his first year in F1 with 150 points and P7 in the championship standings. He was the highest point-scoring rookie of the year and missed P6 by only 6 points.

If pre-season testing is any indication, Kimi Antonelli is picking up where he left off last season. It’s only his second campaign, but he is ready to take the fight to the more experienced drivers.

Testing

2026 is the year of new regulations coming into effect that saw changes in the engine, chassis, and aerodynamic designs in the cars. The winter break was shorter than usual, with 9 days of testing allocated to each team during pre-season, they were able to collect data and test how the new systems worked together. Overall, Mercedes had a strong start to the season, clocking the most mileage across the testing sessions. They also collected an abundance of data about their new power unit as an engine supplier for 3 other teams.

Barcelona Shakedown

Barcelona Shakedown took place during the last week of January. Teams were able to choose 3 out of 5 of the days during that week to run their new car on track. This was an opportunity to really test the car to its limits and see how the new elements hold up. Kimi and George took to the track on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Throughout, they collectively completed just over 2325km which was the highest total mileage per team. The Italian driver did 237 laps across the 3 days, while the Brit logged 265 laps and the second fastest unofficial time of the Shakedown.

The team faced a few minor issues in Barcelona, but both the drivers and the wider team were pleased with the week’s results and the W17’s reliability.

Bahrain Testing 1

According to the team, Shakedown was about proving the concept of the W17 and getting in the mileage. The Bahrain testing weeks were all about set-up exploration. Some teams opted for a single driver per day in the car. The Silver Arrows’ drivers split each testing day, alternating drivers between the sessions. The first 3 days of testing didn’t go as smoothly as the team would have hoped for, with interrupted sessions for Kimi Antonelli on days 1 and 2.

After struggling with reliability during the first 2 days, the team had a smooth day on day 3. The focus for the final day was qualifying and single lap simulations, as well as long run race simulations. Both drivers put in uninterrupted mileage and dominated the timesheets throughout the day. Despite the team not being happy with where they were after testing, they gained some valuable insight, ending the first week of testing with the fastest time of all 3 days, set by Antonelli.

Bahrain Testing 2

With the challenging 3 days in Bahrain behind them, it was test 2 that saw the team bring in new updates. Mercedes continued to set the pace and George Russell topped the overall timesheet for the day. Kimi set another fastest lap of testing during the trouble-free second day, which saw them evaluating the updates and single lap speed. The last day of testing saw a Power unit change after Kimi’s session in the morning was cut short by the loss of power. The power unit was changed on time for the afternoon session for George to gain some more track time for the W17. While on track, the car speaks for itself and is reliable, the team is not clear of controversy. The reliability and performance during the testing triggered competitors to question the compliance of the Mercedes power unit. More notably, the compression ratio. Rivals claimed that the Brackley-based team was running their engine at the 18:1 compression ratio when hot, but while in ambient temperature, matching the required 16:1 compression ratio. This was further discussed and put to a vote, which resulted in a regulation amendment from 1 June 2026. Change sees the compression ratio being measured in both hot and ambient conditions instead of just ambient like previously noted.

Will 2026 be the return of Mercedes dominance?

New regulations bring a level of uncertainty and excitement. Mercedes won 8 consecutive constructors’ championships between 2014 and 2021. Yet, the ground effect era was not as successful for them. Currently, the W17 has only run on two very different circuits. It remains to be seen how this year’s challenger fares on other tracks, including the new Madring circuit in Madrid. With testing concluded and the season opener less than a week away, W17 is the one to watch. It remains to be seen how the season turns out, but if testing is any indication, it will be an interesting title fight this year, and Mercedes will be part of it. Feature Image Credit: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team