Mercedes have had a solid start to the 2025 season — in fact, this has been the best start to a campaign for the Silver Arrows since 2021. After two rounds, the Brackley-based squad sits second in the Constructors’ standings, just 21 points adrift of leaders McLaren, who seem to be in a league of their own.
George Russell has spearheaded Mercedes’ resurgence with back-to-back podiums at Australia and China and a strong P4 finish at the Sprint Race in Shanghai. On the other hand, 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli seems to be settling in well in his rookie season with three points-scoring finishes so far.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is happy with the improvements made on the W16 as compared to its previous iterations. “It’s a more stable platform, last year the rear was our weak point and the front was our strong point,” he told the Italian branch of Motorsport.com.
Despite this, the Austrian is unhappy about the inconsistency of the car’s performance and the narrow operating window.
From what you’ve seen in the first two races, has it [the car] given you the steps forward you were aiming for at the end of 2024?
Toto Wolff: It’s a more stable platform, last year the rear was our weak point and the front was our strong point.
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“At the moment it’s still difficult to find the right stability, we still go from being the leader in one session to 6th in the next, but we also have to say that it’s happening to many other teams, and maybe it will be like this for the whole year,” he added.
For the Silver Arrows, the 2025 season is also one of massive transition, with Russell featuring in the team leader role for the first time in his career.
Russell becomes a benchmark for Antonelli at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton’s departure from the team at the end of the 2024 season left a gaping hole in the Silver Arrows’ driver lineup. And despite signing up Antonelli, many expected him not to match up to the Briton’s standards, given his relative inexperience.
But the Italian racing prodigy has silenced his critics after the first two rounds. Antonelli drove a brilliant recovery drive in Australia from P16 on the grid, in tricky conditions, to bag a P4 finish on his debut.
The Chinese GP Sprint Race saw him finish in the points once again with a solid seventh-placed finish. In the Grand Prix, the 18-year-old replicated his form and made it a hat-trick of points finishes after securing a P8 finish.
Moving further into the season, Wolff expects Russell to be a mentor and benchmark for the Italian to improve his pace. “The decision to take Kimi into the team also came because we knew we had George as a point of reference, we knew he would tell us where the car would be, and obviously he is the point of reference for Kimi,” Wolff explained.
