Mercedes’ vulnerability — recurring poor race starts compounded by an inability to cope with traffic and dirty air — was laid bare at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Team principal Toto Wolff conceded that ‘poor starts have been a recurring issue’, calling the team’s launches ‘mediocre’ and saying a bad getaway nearly cost them in Japan; he also admitted this was the third time this season Mercedes had to recover from a slow launch.

Former drivers Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve warned the team should be concerned, with Villeneuve adding that Mercedes’ package is “vulnerable in dirty air” and needs to be in “fresh air” to be competitive, because traffic and turbulent airflow limit recovery opportunities.

The race itself illustrated the problem. Kimi Antonelli, who started on pole and later won at Suzuka to become the youngest leader of the 2026 standings, botched his own launch and dropped to sixth before a late safety car — triggered by Ollie Bearman’s crash — and a timely pit stop reshaped the running and allowed him to retake the lead. Mercedes’ recovery efforts were visible but imperfect: George Russell fought back to fourth after a setup change left his W17 uncooperative and both Mercedes drivers were hampered by traffic. Wolff both praised Antonelli’s racecraft and quipped about modern drivers learning in “automatic driving schools” while again pointing to the team’s recurring poor getaways.

The combined pattern of slow starts and an aerodynamic/flow weakness when following other cars has prompted external concern and demonstrated that other teams and drivers can threaten Mercedes on race day. Unless the team addresses clutch/launch procedure and its loss of performance in dirty air, those vulnerabilities look set to undermine Mercedes’ results going forward.

Sources