Mercedes is gearing up for a strong title challenge in 2025 as they unveiled their new W16 model, set to be driven by George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. As teams gear up for the pre-season testing in Bahrain this week, Mercedes is hitting the track earlier on Tuesday, ahead of the official start on Wednesday. Last year, Mercedes found themselves finishing fourth in the constructors’ championship, trailing Red Bull by 121 points and lagging 198 points behind the championship winners, McLaren. With this fresh start, team principal Toto Wolff is optimistic about a tighter competition this year.
“We are preparing for an intensely competitive season,” Wolff commented. “The previous year showed us just how close the field can get. It was unpredictable from race to race, and I believe this year’s contest will be even more intense. We need to bring our A-game if we want to vie for the championship titles this season.”
In related developments, Aston Martin showcased the AMR25 ahead of its Bahrain premiere on Monday. Meanwhile, Verstappen has weighed in on the controversy regarding swearing bans, advocating for sensible handling of the issue. Over at Ferrari, Leclerc suggested that Hamilton’s arrival is timely for the team.
The partnership between Russell and Antonelli marks a new era for Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton’s departure. According to technical director James Allison, the focus has been to equip the drivers with a car that can inspire greater confidence.
“We are entering the fourth year under these chassis regulations. The cars are now more developed, making it harder to achieve significant improvements in lap times,” Allison explained. “We’ve prioritized enhancing the areas where we struggled last year, especially addressing the W15’s hesitancy in slow corners and balancing tire temperatures, which led to inconsistent performances.”
Allison expressed satisfaction with the progress made over the winter months, eager to see how Mercedes measures up against competitors.
“This season promises to be fiercely competitive from the get-go. As the regulations mature, the performance gap is closing. We anticipate several different teams to be top contenders, possibly more than the four that claimed victories last year,” he added.
The latest model, the W16, features major mechanical upgrades including a revamped front suspension and extensive aerodynamic updates, both visible and hidden within its bodywork.
Mercedes clinched four wins in 2024, and power unit chief Hywel Thomas is confident that even marginal improvements could translate into more consistent victories.
“We have focused on reliability and calibration enhancements to bolster robustness and extract peak performance from the power unit,” Thomas said. “Our offseason efforts have paid off, and we hope these upgrades will boost our on-track performance.”
Thomas emphasized the significance of identifying minor gains given the current regulatory environment.
“Last year demonstrated how competitive the field is, especially during qualifying. Those fractions of a second can be pivotal, determining whether you secure pole position or end up in the second or third row. We’re committed to pursuing these enhancements, aiming to contend for the championship when we reach Abu Dhabi,” he concluded.
