Mercedes scares: “Penalized by the cold, the potential of the package was not seen”

Mercedes has shaken off the competition with the arrival of the updates and according to Antonelli the advantage could be even greater than that seen in Canada. If in recent years the Silver Arrows thrived on low temperatures, the situation now seems to be different, with the Brackley team having invested heavily in cooling. Toto Wolff’s team hopes to reap the benefits in Spain, but in the meantime they are enjoying the great steps forward on the departures front. Some Like It Hot In Montreal, Mercedes repeated their success in 2025, but this time the cold even limited the competitiveness of the Silver Arrows. “I think we didn’t see the potential of the package this weekend,” reflects Antonelli. “They were very particular conditions, it was cold and just having the tires in the right window made the difference. Our car, then, is very good at cooling the tyres, especially this weekend, where it was so cold that it was difficult to get them up to temperature. I think this penalized us a bit.” The Italian driver continues: “We didn’t see the potential of the package, you’ll see much better in Barcelona how much it actually made us gain. I think we would have been there even with the old configuration. This package gives you more load and we felt it, but it also improved the level of cooling. I think that made life a little more difficult for us this weekend. However, you can feel that the package gives you more load and that the car in general has more grip.” Speaking of cooling, Antonelli is referring above all to that of the tyres. This year the development of the rims has returned to the teams, who are investing heavily in this area, with different schools of thought. According to Kimi, Mercedes has worked to prevent the tires from overheating, with the side effect of encountering a few too many difficulties when track temperatures drop, as in Canada. The leader of the standings, in fact, had to manage a hint of graining on the medium tires in the second part of the race, while in the initial stages with the soft tyres, which were quicker to reach temperature, the Mercedes drivers lapped 6-7 tenths faster than everyone else. Unlike previous years, the Brackley car no longer fears the arrival of the heat and on European tracks the W17’s advantage could be even greater. Departures good Another good news for the Mercedes comes from the progress at the start. During the break the team worked a lot on the software and on Antonelli’s clutch lever to improve the sprint from a standstill, after the many problems of the first races. Kimi’s feedback is more than positive: “It’s going much better, it’s certainly a big step forward and it was needed. The team made a good step and so did Marcelo, my engineer who follows this type of thing. It’s a step forward in the right direction and I’m happy about it, because getting good starts is very important for the rest of the race.” Mercedes arrives at the European season with the best conditions, even if the road to the title still remains very long. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-25 20:56:00