The 2025 season marked a brand new period for Mercedes, with George Russell stepping up as staff chief whereas rookie Kimi Antonelli arrived to fill the emptiness left by Lewis Hamilton. A robust begin to the marketing campaign was adopted by a run of harder races – however after reverting to an older package deal appeared to ship outcomes simply earlier than the summer time break, can the Silver Arrows keep this into the second half of the yr? Right here is their half time period report…
Finest end
George Russell – 1st in Canada
Russell appeared to be in a very good run of kind when the marketing campaign kicked off, the Briton standing on the rostrum at 4 of the opening six races. The European triple header was more difficult for each Russell and Antonelli – however higher was to come back at Spherical 10 in Canada.
In a repeat of what occurred on the identical venue 12 months earlier, Russell grabbed pole place in Qualifying. Nevertheless, in contrast to the 2024 occasion – by which he misplaced out on the win to Max Verstappen – the Mercedes driver this time transformed that P1 grid slot into victory.
The outcome was made all of the sweeter by the opposite W16 of Antonelli making it a double podium in third place, marking the primary time that the Italian had stood on the podium in his younger F1 profession.
Qualifying head-to-head
Russell 13-1 Antonelli
Maybe unsurprisingly throughout Antonelli’s first season within the high echelon, Russell has outscored the rookie in all however one Grand Prix Qualifying session thus far, along with his greatest displaying being that pole place in Montreal.
The weekend by which Antonelli put himself forward of his extra skilled staff mate on the grid was at Spherical 6 in Miami, the teenager taking P3 whereas Russell lined up two locations behind. This additionally got here simply at some point after Antonelli clinched pole in Sprint Qualifying, making him the youngest driver in F1 historical past to take pole place in any format.
Race head-to-head
Russell 14-0 Antonelli
Russell has additionally led the best way on Sundays from Antonelli, having crossed the road earlier than his fellow Silver Arrows driver at each Grand Prix throughout the first half of the season. And whereas Russell is but to undergo a DNF, Antonelli has had worse luck, recording 4 retirements thus far.
Factors-wise, Russell is at the moment sitting in P4 of the Drivers’ Championship with a tally of 172 factors, 108 greater than Antonelli in seventh place. This has given Mercedes a complete of 236 factors, placing them third within the Teams’ Standings.
Worst second
When F1 kicked off its European leg with a triple header spanning Imola, Monaco and Spain, this additionally introduced with it a difficult run for Mercedes. Antonelli retired from his home race in addition to in Barcelona, whereas Russell was concerned in a controversial collision with the Red Bull of Verstappen on the latter occasion.
Nevertheless, the hardest weekend of all for the Silver Arrows was at Spherical 8 in Monte Carlo. Each drivers suffered early exits in Qualifying, with Antonelli crashing out throughout the closing minutes of Q1 whereas Russell’s automobile misplaced energy in Q2, leaving the pair to begin from P15 and P14 respectively.
Issues didn’t enhance come Sunday, as each drivers discovered themselves caught in site visitors. Russell grew to become so annoyed at being unable to move the Williams of Alex Albon that he minimize the Nouvelle Chicane to overhaul, a call he received a drive-through penalty for. Crossing the road in P11 – with Antonelli again in P18 – it proved to be the one weekend thus far by which Mercedes have scored no factors.
Going ahead
Having struggled for tempo compared to their rivals throughout latest races, the choice to revert back to a previous suspension simply earlier than the summer time break in Hungary appeared to repay for Mercedes, with Russell returning to the rostrum whereas Antonelli scored his first factors since Canada.
With this seemingly suggesting that the introduction of a more recent package deal again in Could was the reason for their points, the Brackley-based outfit will probably be hoping that this modification in path will set them on the correct path for the second half of the marketing campaign.
This choice additionally appeared essential in building confidence for Antonelli, the rookie having endured some ups and downs throughout his debut season thus far. Russell, in the meantime, has been praised by Technical Director James Allison for “setting a very, very high bar”, which means that each drivers will probably be seeking to construct on this additional going ahead.
Off the observe, a lot speak has centred round Mercedes’ driver line-up for 2026 amid hypothesis linking Verstappen to the staff. Nevertheless, with the Dutchman lately stating that he will remain with Red Bull, this subject is prone to be much less of an exterior focus, with Russell conceding that it’s a case of “when not if” he’ll signal a brand new cope with the squad.
Ought to that quickly be settled, each Russell and Antonelli will probably be targeted on making an attempt to chase down Ferrari within the Groups’ Championship and reclaim the P2 that they held within the earlier phases of the season.
