Are Mercedes going to struggle in 2025?

By Camille Lebez-Leroy

Mercedes’ 2025 F1 Season: A New Era Begins

The 2025 Formula 1 season is, for Mercedes-AMG Petronas, a crucial one. The team is going into unexplored lands with Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari, trying to return to championship contention while finding a balance between experience and new talent. What can we expect from them this season, then?

A New Driver Lineup: Russell & Antonelli

With Hamilton gone, Mercedes has trusted George Russell and rising Italian star Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Russell, now a team leader, has three career wins and five pole positions under his belt. Although he is quick and competent, the true concern is whether he can guide the team in an era of pressure. Antonelli, a young phenomenon who has been a part of Mercedes’ junior program since his karting times, is coming next. He quickly moved through the categories, taking home Formula 4 and Formula Regional titles as well as a few Formula 2 race wins. Even though some questioned if he was ready or not for Formula One, he made an impressive debut at the Australian Grand Prix. He battled his way up to fourth position in a race affected by the rain, despite starting 16th due to car issues during qualifying. This shows that Mercedes may have found his next fantastic star.

Is the Car Still In Development?

Let’s face it, Mercedes hasn’t been the powerful force it once was. They experienced difficulties adapting to the new rules after winning eight Constructors’ Championships in a row from 2014 to 2021. Regardless of achieving four race wins, the W15 from the last season was, at some point, insufficient performance-wise. They had their weakest result since 2012, finishing fourth in the Constructors’ standings. After realising that modifications were needed, the team made some major changes for 2025. Russell claims that researchers identified the main areas that caused the car to underperform. Despite their efforts to solve these issues, it is still unclear if the W16 will be competitive enough to be fighting for race wins.

In comparison to the competition, how do they stand out?

In 2025, Mercedes will have to face off strong competitors along with their history.

• McLaren has improved significantly. Russell said that they could “win every race this season” because of how strong their car is. That’s an audacious statement, but it was clear that McLaren was the real deal when Lando Norris locked out the front row in Australia and beat Max Verstappen in pace.

• Ferrari seems to be strong. The Scuderia gained fresh energy when Hamilton joined, and they have finally solved some of their old car flaws.

• Given that Red Bull is still competitive, they seem to be going through a period of development, which is enabling their rivals to catch up.

What is Mercedes’s mindset?

For the Silver Arrows, the upcoming season is all about flexibility. They have to accomplish these things properly:

• Car development: They have identified areas of weakness, but they have to make sure that their upgrades are successful.   If not, they will spend the entire season catching up.

• Driver dynamics: Antonelli needs to acquire skills quickly, and Russell needs to embrace his position as leader.   They could have an effective teamwork if they get along well.

• Strategic execution: Mercedes must be smart with race strategies and in-season improvements to be competitive, especially with McLaren and Ferrari looking threatening.

Final Thoughts are simply that Mercedes are still very much in the game, even though they may not be the clear favourite in 2025. They have a solid foundation, a promising young driver, and the determination to fight back. Will they take the right steps to close the gap and get back to the top? That is the most important question.  We will learn a lot about Mercedes’s future in Formula One this season, over the coming weeks.