Mercedes dominates, but Wolff is not happy: “I expected 1-2 tenths more”

F1 Canada, Mercedes in the 1st row in the Sprint It may not have been a generous seven tenths of the free practices, but even the three tenths of the Sprint Qualifying explain very well the further leap in quality of Mercedes thanks to the first major evolutionary package brought to the track in 2026. In Montreal George Russell will start from pole position in the short race with a time of 1:12.965, while Kimi Antonelli will keep him company in the 1st row with a gap of only 68 thousandths. The competition, starting with McLaren and Ferrari, does not have the slightest chance of competing for the top positions, and will probably race for third place at least in the short race. Nonetheless, team principal Toto Wolff is not happy with the performance in Sprint Qualifying. The Austrian is a perfectionist, and he underlined that both Russell and Antonelli had a better time (which is undoubtedly true for the Bolognese, who regretted a less than flawless first sector). Wolff’s words: “If Hamilton doesn’t make that mistake (at the Casino hairpin, editor’s note) he gets a time like ours, he was going fast but he got his lap wrong. I didn’t like our speed so much, with all these new features I expected a tenth or two tenths more. Of course, it’s not bad and we have to be happy when we are first and second, but it’s not a 1-2 with a big gap. Who is there to fear? Ferrari, McLaren and Max. To date we have the fastest package, but we have to push tomorrow.” Mercedes’ updates also aim to improve the starts, so far the biggest weakness of the W17: “We have changed a lot. Today’s starts were solid, but not extraordinary. We will have another test tomorrow, it will be important to see how they go in the Sprint and in the race.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-23 08:36:00