2026 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

[Luscion]

[Lasssept]

[Emag]

A bit lucky with the safety car today, but nevertheless, Kimi is a seriously impressive driver for his age. Haven't been impressed this much by a "junior" since Verstappen in 2015-2016.

[avantman]

I don't think George would've been matching Kimi's pace today even with the proper setup tweak.... It was just sensational!

Sensational rocketship that car is. Which is actually anything but a sensation for anyone who has been watching this season since the start.

[ScuderiaLeo]

The safety car was lucky yes, but Antonelli performed amazingly under pressure. He has made huge leaps from just last year. If he can get those starts down... it'll be scary for everyone else!

[Jambier]

Thanks Mercedes to have so poor starts

The car is clearly dominant but poor start are bringing fun.

I’m wondering if they can fix this this year

[Darth-Piekus]

Kimi has won me over. Championship material from 19 and humble.

[avantman]

The safety car was lucky yes, but Antonelli performed amazingly under pressure. He has made huge leaps from just last year. If he can get those starts down... it'll be scary for everyone else!

What pressure? From who? I don’t remember anyone put him under pressure at any time during the race.
Speaking in general on a season, I can understand Russell feeling the pressure finally getting a dominant car which must go win every race and struggling badly dealing with this pressure. He knows it’s likely now or never, it’s his championship to lose. Antonelli has no pressure being yesterday a rookie. It’s much easier for him, age is an advantage here.

[Lasssept]

[Jambier]

Kimi has won me over. Championship material from 19 and humble.

I like a lot as well!
But RUS is number 1 driver and will be champion this year.

RUS must be cautious though because ANT will / is already Toto’s favorite

[CHT]

Once a driver tasted the sweetness of winning, he will be yearning for more, and this is where tension between team mate will arise.

[Matt2725]

Kimi has won me over. Championship material from 19 and humble.

I like a lot as well!
But RUS is number 1 driver and will be champion this year.

RUS must be cautious though because ANT will / is already Toto’s favorite

Well that's the thing. Both races Kimi won, George was severely compromised in qualifying. Otherwise, both times he's getting pole IMO. Although you can argue Kimi has been largely quicker all weekend this time around, so less so.
You can also argue Kimi was compromised in qualifying at Melbourne too of course.

Knowing that Suzuka is a weak track for George (as is Miami next mind you), I think we should be cautious to think Kimi is just going to run with it now. And of course, Kimi only won because of the SC. This was Oscar's race to win.

George needs to stamp his authority next time out if he wants to keep in the hunt long term.

[Tonino]

Happy for Kimi and the team. Great pace today (SC helped, but still). Those starts though really need work.

No parasocial attachment here, just want Mercedes P1. But George, race 3 and already off it. Bad luck aside, that quali setup call, cooking his tires again + messy racecraft vs Leclerc isn’t good enough. He needs to wake up.

[LM10]

Congratulations to Kimi. Though, he’s a bit lucky that driver skills have never mattered less than currently.

And I mean generally, not against his team mate, who in my opinion is not even close to being one of the best drivers.

[zibby43]

Congratulations to Kimi. Though, he’s a bit lucky that driver skills have never mattered less than currently.

And I mean generally, not against his team mate, who in my opinion is not even close to being one of the best drivers.

In the race, driver skill in wheel-to-wheel racing and tire management during a stint are absolutely just as critical as they have always been.

Relative to the last generation of cars that resulted in some of the most processional racing we've seen in years, I'd actually argue racecraft matters more this year. Because these lighter, twitchier cars can actually follow and race each other without overheating their tires instantly, the racing has been pretty darn good and drivers like Lewis (in the first two races at least), Charles, George, and Kimi have all been able to showcase their talent.

Previously, you either needed to have a massive inherent pace advantage, tire offset advantage, or DRS to make a pass.

George is absolutely one of the top 5 best drivers on the grid (probably one of the top 2 or 3 best qualifiers) and if he should ever become a "free agent" so to speak, his contract would reflect that. That's why after 2025, the F1 team principals who know racing and see the driver data rated the drivers as follows: 1) Verstappen; 2) Norris; 3) Piastri; 4) Russell.

Qualifying is probably too dependent on energy management and deployment but you see teams like McLaren starting to figure it out and get closer to being in the fight.