– Although Mercedes also won the third race of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Suzuka, the Japanese Grand Prix showed that the Silver Arrows are at least vulnerable. For the first time this year, Mercedes did not celebrate a one-two finish on Sunday.
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While Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive success, teammate George Russell finished “only” fourth behind Oscar Piastri in the McLaren and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Although there were reasons for Russell’s comparatively poor result, Toto Wolff nevertheless warns that Mercedes’ lead is shrinking.
A good example is customer team McLaren. They were still without a chance at the first race of the season in Melbourne, and Lando Norris was more than 50 seconds behind race winner Russell at the finish. In Suzuka, teammate Oscar Piastri led the race for a long time after the start.
Throughout the entire first stint, Russell was stuck at the back of the McLaren but could not get past. He overtook Piastri once in the chicane, but the Australian countered immediately on the straight. According to Wolff, this was partly due to energy management.
Wolff: McLaren has “understood” the engine
“I think Andrea [Stella] said at the beginning of the season that as a works team you have a small advantage at the start,” the Austrian recalls on Sky. But in the meantime, McLaren as a customer has also better understood how to use the new engine optimally.
“The other teams are catching up,” Wolff warns, explaining that competitors are understanding better with every race “how to recover energy and how to use it.” Suzuka was a perfect example of this, because Russell simply couldn’t get past Piastri on the track.
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“They’ve understood it,” Wolff says of McLaren, “and the Ferraris also had the right strategy for energy use,” he adds. An assessment shared by the McLaren side. “We are closing it,” says Zak Brown about the current gap to the works team.
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“The cooperation with HPP is going well,” says the McLaren boss about the Mercedes engine department, emphasizing: “They work well with us and we are learning together. And we made a nice step forward this weekend.”
Mercedes still has a lead
The fact is, however, that Mercedes still has the best overall package in the field. “The fact that I was able to keep George behind me for so long was really encouraging. But we are under no illusions,” Oscar Piastri clarifies after his second place in Suzuka.
“We did everything right this weekend and were still beaten by 15 seconds. So we still have a fairly large gap to close. I am confident that we can do it, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” said the Australian.
Photo gallery: Suzuka: The driver ratings from Marc Surer and the editorial team
Team Principal Andrea Stella also emphasizes: “Even if this result makes us confident, our goal remains clear: we must improve the fundamental performance of our chassis.” One must find “a few more tenths” to really be capable of winning on one’s own merit.
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And Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur also says on Sky about Mercedes: “In qualifying they have a lead of five to seven tenths, while this lead is significantly smaller in the race.” Nevertheless, Ferrari also still has to make “a step forward” to “catch up with them.”
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