(Motorsport-Total.com) – Although the Mercedes W17 is considered by many experts to be the best overall package in the 2026 Formula 1 season, only one Mercedes driver scored points in each of the last three races. George Russell remained completely without points twice, and now Kimi Antonelli was affected for the first time in Barcelona.
Read more «Old-school driving style»: Will Lewis Hamilton benefit from the new F1 rules?
While Russell was thrown out of the top 10 in Monaco by a ultimately probably unjustified penalty, he retired in Canada with a defect. Antonelli also had to park the Silver Arrow shortly before the end of the race in Spain this weekend.
“We cannot afford regular or repeated failures,” team boss Toto Wolff complains after the third zero score in the third race in a row. “To be first, you first have to finish,” emphasizes the Austrian.
Mercedes still leads both world championships. However, in the Drivers’ Championship, Lewis Hamilton already overtook George Russell in Monaco and also reduced the gap to championship leader Antonelli in Barcelona to “only” 41 points.
Formula 1 teams with at least five wins at the start of the season
According to Wolff, Mercedes therefore urgently needs to get its reliability problems under control. “That has top priority. Nobody is happy with it,” the team boss clarifies and announces: “We will turn over every stone.”
Read more Formula 1 technology: Ferrari engine upgrade expected to bring around 15 hp
It is particularly striking that there have been repeated problems with the battery during the season. This affected not only the factory team itself, but also customer team McLaren, for example. However, according to Wolff, no clear pattern is yet discernible.
“Most other cases were related to the battery,” he confirms, “but involved different errors. It wasn’t always the same,” Wolff clarifies. So it’s not a recurring defect, but apparently always different problems.
“We will really do everything we can to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again,” Wolff therefore emphasizes after the latest defect in Spain.
Read more Formula 1 technology: Ferrari engine upgrade is expected to bring around 15 hp