McLaren has denied it time and again, but the Miami GP this past weekend once again proved that the MCL39 is the fastest car on the grid this season. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris secured a dominant 1-2 finish, finishing 32 seconds ahead of third-placed George Russell.
Russell’s podium suggested Mercedes were the second-best team—but as the numbers show, they weren’t even close, a point Toto Wolff emphasized after the race.
The Mercedes team principal believes that the W16 is only as quick as the McLaren over a single lap. However, unlike in previous years when the team lacked a clear idea of where to improve, Wolff insisted that they are no longer clueless about their shortcomings in long-run performance.
Strong tire management has proved to be a vital competitive advantage for McLaren since midway through the 2024 campaign, when they truly established themselves as the quickest. Wolff feels that the Woking-based squad has built on that advantage and become untouchable on that front. That’s where Mercedes is lacking.
“They demonstrate their superiority on every tire type. We have a similarly fast car to them, but only on one lap. McLaren can reproduce that every lap,” the Austrian told Auto Motor und Sport.
Rivals Red Bull have accused McLaren of using underhanded tactics to prevent their tires from overheating, but their attempts to insinuate foul play have been futile so far. Even Wolff backed McLaren, stating that, “They’re not doing anything illegal. We have no doubt that they’re operating within the rules, whatever they’ve found.”
#AMuS: Red Bull is using thermal cameras in an attempt to uncover how McLaren indirectly controls its tyre temperatures using the brake’s cooling
Their conclusion: “Impossible to cool so well with air alone.”
[https://t.co/0ysMke2tqS] pic.twitter.com/g5utdo8C33
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) May 3, 2025
Wolff, instead, is keen on figuring out the root cause of McLaren’s advantage and accordingly modify his car to match their pace. “We don’t know. But we’re working hard on it. We’re not just sitting back and watching, but trying to find the key through experimentation and development work.”
Even though Mercedes is far off the pace, the W16 has performed at a consistent level this season, free of the conceptual problems that plagued their performance and reliability during the early ground-effect era.
If they can bring one major upgrade that effectively bridges the gap to McLaren’s benchmark, the Mercedes drivers could be back in contention. In fact, Russell has been performing at an exceptionally high level, finishing in the top five in every race so far. He has also grabbed four podium finishes in the opening six rounds.
While the Briton is still fourth in the standings, 39 points off the championship leader Piastri, if the W16 allows him to start winning races, he could emerge as a surprise contender later this season.
Nevertheless, Wolff would much rather be in this position than searching for answers, as Mercedes has been over the past three seasons due to constant missteps in car development.
