Mercedes confirm ‘deliberate’ W16 experiment with British GP chances rated

Struggling in the heat in Austria, Mercedes recorded one of its worst weekends of the campaign with Toto Wolff revealing the team “deliberately experimented” with the W16’s set-up.

Heading to the Red Bull Ring on the back of George Russell’s Canadian Grand Prix victory, the Brackley squad had one eye on the weather forecast as sweltering heat was expected.

A ‘useful test’ for Mercedes, but it didn’t help the result

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Mercedes has grappled with issues related to high temperatures, which affect the car’s performance on the track.

It was again a problem in Austria with the Russell the team’s best qualifier if fifth, but almost eight-tenths down on the pole-sitting McLaren, while Kimi Antonelli only just snuck into Q3.

The Italian’s race was over on the opening lap as he locked up the rears and ploughed into Max Verstappen, leaving Russell the sole Mercedes on the track.

He duly finished in fifth place, but was over a minute down on race winner Lando Norris; the Ferraris also 30 seconds up the road.

“I was expecting a bad race and it was worse than I even could imagine,” Russell told the media, including PlanetF1.com. “The problem is so clear, coming off the back of Canada with the win, with no tyre overheating, we’re the quickest.

“But as soon as you get to a track where there’s a bit of overheating, we drop off so much.

“So, to be honest, the team have been working so hard for six months now to try and solve this issue. We’ve got ideas, but nothing that’s really… we’re not really making major headway right now.”

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Those ideas, his team principal Wolff revealed, led to Mercedes running an experimental set-up at the Red Bull Ring.

But while it was a case of lessons learnt, it didn’t help the car’s performance.

“After a tough Grand Prix in Austria,” the Austrian said in the team’s review of the weekend. “It is good to get back racing straight away.

“We deliberately experimented on set-up in Spielberg; it was a useful test and there are positive learnings we can apply this weekend, but it ultimately didn’t help our performance.”

Formula 1 has a quick turnaround between Austria and the next race, the British Grand Prix, with the two events back-to-back on the F1 2025 calendar.

That not only gives Mercedes the opportunity to turn the page quickly, but on paper Silverstone should be a better weekend with a high of 25 degrees forecast for Friday, while Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race could see a few drops of rain.

“Silverstone has typically been a strong circuit for us. The cooler conditions should suit our car, and we are hopeful of putting on a good performance in front of our team-mates and the passionate British fans, who always provide a great atmosphere,” Wolff said.

“The very first World Championship race took place at Silverstone 75 years ago, so this weekend carries additional significance for the sport. We will take the opportunity to mark this milestone with a celebration of Mercedes’ own legacy across automotive and motorsport past, present, and future.

“That will include a revised livery, featuring the sunset beam orange of the recently launched Concept AMG GT XX, the ground-breaking concept car that offers an impressive insight into the future of AMG.

“Whilst it will be an exciting weekend off track with several activations, our full focus remains of course on the track. We will look to bounce back from last weekend and put on a performance more befitting of Mercedes’ storied history.”

Mercedes is third in the Constructors’ Championship, a point behind Ferrari.

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