Mercedes Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord has named the biggest “challenge” the team is gearing up to face with the 2026 Formula 1 engine regulations.

The latest power unit rule-set is set to completely overhaul the engine formula – with the removal of the MGU-H and a 50-50 hybrid propulsion system.

Naturally, one of the biggest factors in deciding which engine manufacturer has the legs over its rivals is the reliability and performance it can derive from its power unit.

In the past, this has boiled down to how quickly a team can extract data and convert it into solutions.

For Mercedes, who are tipped to lead the engine race from the start, Lord believes that its position as an engine supplier in the paddock is one of the biggest advantages.

“I think supplying multiple teams as a power unit manufacturer, the reason you do it is because it gives you exactly that [an advantage], particularly on reliability and proving our technology,” he said.

This season, the German marque supplies engines to Williams, Aston Martin and reigning Constructors’ champions McLaren.

From 2026 onwards, Aston Martin will be replaced by Alpine. And while having three teams feeding back essential data to boost Mercedes’ engine development, Lord also envisaged a logistical hurdle that could pose a “challenge”.

“There’s an advantage to that. It also comes at a… cost is the wrong word, but it brings with it the challenge of needing to have more parts ready, more power units ready, more products ready sooner, in order to enable those four teams to go testing and go racing and things like that,” he continued.

“So it’s not without challenge, but one of the upsides is certainly that you get more extensive prove-out mileage, and you’re learning at a faster rate thanks to the mileage that all eight power units will be doing at the first race weekend.

“That will certainly be positive. Equally, if you find challenges, you have eight sets of solutions that you need to deliver, not just two or four or six.

“So there are sort of upsides and downsides to it, but we believe that the upside of that learning outweighs the downsides.”

What Mercedes expects with 2026 regulations

The 50-50 split between the internal cumbstion unit and electric output has raised a few concerns in the paddock about the drivability of the 2026 cars.

Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll have been vocal about how they feel that the technical regulations will impede drivers in fast, flowing circuits like Suzuka or Spa Francorchamps.

However, Lord relayed the initial feelings the team’s reserve driver Valtteri Bottas had to deliver after testing a prototype of the 2026 F1 car on the simulator.

“He said that, by the time we get to the start of next season, actually, it won’t be the same as it has been this year, but we’ll be in a situation where it will be something that feels very familiar,” revealed Lord.

“The focus is on how to extract more performance. How can we overtake here? How can we optimise lap time rather than anything else?

“So I think we will all be going on a journey as stakeholders in and fans of Formula 1, to understand the racing and to explain that to the fans as well, what’s changing and why it’s changing.

“But Melbourne 2026, it will be Formula 1 as we know it, and when the lights go out, it will be racing as we know it, and we will see people fighting tooth and nail to win the grand prix.”

READ MORE – FIA keen to avoid ‘overburdening’ F1 drivers with 2026 regulations

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Alex Albon has admitted that next year’s Formula 1 rule changes could prove to be a hurdle to current progress shown by Williams, citing Mercedes as an example.

The Grove-based squad is enjoying its best F1 season for some time, currently heading up the midfield battle, sitting fifth in the the Constructors’ Championship.

18 points clear of Aston Martin in sixth, Williams has been able to boast top 10 finishes in all but four of the 14 rounds so far, with 54 of those points scored by Albon.

After being one of F1’s most competitive teams after Mercedes when the V6 hybrid era began in 2014, the team began to suffer a significant lull amid its sale by the Williams family.

The ground effect period of this era, which commenced in 2022, has seen little progress either, but Williams have now begun to crack the code.

However, next year sees the introduction of some of F1’s most radical technical regulation changes in its 75-year history, something that concerns the Anglo-Thai driver.

“It is, it is [a concern],” Albon told RacingNews365./

“A good example would be Mercedes. On the last generation of cars, they had a car that they dominated, and then they didn’t.

“I think the best teams still find a way. They still seem to be able to get everyone together, be adaptable, go up and still fight their way back up to the top.”

Williams ‘have foundations to bounce back’

Albon is natrually chomping at the bit to get the team back to where it used to proudly place itself – at the very top of F1.

The 29-year-old has been a focal part of its steady progress towards the midfield, having impressed amid its difficult periods since joining the team in 2022.

But Albon believes that even if the rule changes may truncate the team’s current upward trajectory, there is a good platform which should make it just a temporary blip.

“I think as a team, if I look at where we were three years ago and you asked me, ‘what happens if you plateau? What would happen there?’” he said.

“I would be like ‘yeah, that’s a talking point’. But now, we’re not there yet, but we’re in such a healthier position.

“Even if next year is not where we want to be, I still feel like we’ve got good foundations to bounce back.

“We still want to improve [the foundations], and we are.

“The amount of movement at Grove is huge, so as long as I still believe in the project, I’m happy to. I don’t want it to wait, but I’m happy to wait.”

READ MORE – How Aston Martin is preparing for the challenge of F1 2026

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has branded his old Formula 1 adversary Christian Horner an “a**hole” in an assessment of their longstanding personal rivalry.

Horner’s dismissal by Red Bull in July brought to an end the 51-year-old’s 20-year spell in F1, having led the Milton Keynes-based squad since its inception.

It also closed a chapter on one of the most fraught and public displays of verbal warfare between two Team Principals in the sport’s history.

Horner and Wolff’s rivalry often conveyed a genuine mutual disliking, amid Red Bull and the German marque’s on-track battle for supremacy.

Even right up to the end of Horner’s tenure, the pair could often be the subject of a verbal jousting, with Wolff blasting Red Bull’s protest of George Russell’s victory in Canada.

When asked to sum up Horner and his time in F1, the Austrian told Formula.hu: “What do I think [of Horner]?

“Well, that over the last 12-15 years, he has often behaved like an asshole.

“He operates according to completely different values, but even the greatest enemy has a best friend.

“On the other hand, he was extremely successful in what he did.

“Now that he’s gone, at least for a while, a real personality has left the sport.

“He was controversial and divisive, but he was one of the main characters here. We can safely say that he was as significant as a great driver.

“Looking at it purely from an F1 perspective, I don’t think there are many old-style team boss dinosaurs left here.

“Maybe just me. Maybe Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari team principal] is a bit of a dinosaur too!”

Wolff and Horner rivalry matched Hamilton and Verstappen’s

The pair’s contentious relationship came to a head in 2021, when their respective drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, conducted one of the most gripping Drivers’ Championship battles of all-time.

Verstappen, of course, came out on top at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, under controversial circumstances via a late Safety Car.

Whilst the Dutchman and the seven-time champion were the main protagonists, the two team bosses played their own role in the drama, too.

Asked if his rivalry with Horner might have been, at times, as memorable as their drivers’ battles, Wolff replied: “Yes.

“If you look at it, it really has always been an interesting story.

“Those years, but especially 2021, weren’t just about Max and Lewis, but also about Christian and me.

“What’s more, it was really difficult at times – and that’s in every history book and always will be.”

Wolff concluded and he might have to find himself a new rival, intimating that his own existence in F1 may not be as fun without Horner.

“He always said that I loved to hate him,” he said.

“So who should I hate now? It looks like I’ll have to find someone else…”

READ MORE – Red Bull’s F1 rivals regard Laurent Mekies as ‘perfect’ Christian Horner successor

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Gabriel Bortoleto empathised with fellow rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli amid a frustrating spell for the Italian with Mercedes in Formula 1 this season.

The 18-year-old came into the paddock with lofty expectations. Having skipped Formula 3, the Italian was directly promoted to Formula 2 after winning the FRECA title in his rookie season in 2023.

After Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he was leaving the German marque for Ferrari, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was quick to hand Antonelli a promotion to F1.

Antonelli began his career in the sport on a strong note, securing a maiden Sprint pole position at Miami and backing it up with a career-first podium finish in Canada.

However, since then, the European leg of the season has seen the Italian struggle massively with the W16. Since that breakthrough result in Montreal, the 18-year-old has only managed to score a solitary point for the Silver Arrows in Hungary. Bortoleto, who raced against Antonelli in F2 last year, empathised with his plight.

“I don’t want to talk about anyone’s performance or confidence because you never know what is going on inside the team,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“You know, so many rumours around everything. I feel like Kimi is a very good driver, he’s talented.

“I raced him in F2 last year and he’s in a good car, you know, very good car and he has a very strong teammate as well, so it’s not easy to be in that position. 

“Obviously, I think there was a lot of expectations into this season for him and, yeah, I just… hopefully, he can get some of this confidence back and then perform well because it’s always good to see other rookies doing well. It shows that our generation is strong, so, yeah.”

Russell clarifies Mercedes stance on Antonelli

Antonelli’s struggles with the W16 essentially started from Imola onwards. The team had fitted an upgraded rear suspension that exacerbated the car’s inherent imbalance and promiscuously small operating window.

His team-mate Russell was also vocal about how the car had become a difficult beast to tame in terms of driveability, adding further credence to Antonelli’s analysis.

Russell explained how Antonelli needs to put his entire season into perspective while evaluating his recent struggles.

“I think as a young driver, you’ve got to look at it objectively, which is in terms of his own personal performance,” he assessed.

“You can argue he’s probably actually performing better than he did at the start of the year when you look at the deficit in terms of lap time. It’s just the differences.

“In Canada, when we were on pole, he was in fourth place, over half a second behind. In Spa, he was only three tenths behind me. But that was the difference between out in Q1 or getting through to Q3.”

Mercedes decided to revert to the pre-Imola spec rear suspension at the Hungarian Grand Prix and hopes that this could bring the team back in contention for wins.

But Russell clarified that there is no pressure on Antonelli to mend his ways immediately post the summer break, with a clear understanding that the side is willing to back his team-mate.

“The team have made it very clear he shouldn’t worry about those results,” Russell asserted.

“He’s still done a very good job considering his experience. It’s the car that has brought us both backwards.

“That’s, of course, very difficult to accept when you’re in that position. But it’s never easy when the car is not performing as you expect.”

READ MORE – Why Mercedes is unconcerned by Kimi Antonelli’s debut F1 struggles

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Toto Wolff has highlighted that Mercedes’ “inconsistent” car is making it tougher for rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli to adapt, describing the challenges as part of his learning curve in Formula 1.

The Italian earned a seat at the German squad for 2025 following Lewis Hamilton’s departure, after the now-Ferrari driver spent 12 years with the Silver Arrows, securing six World Championships.

Tasked with filling enormous shoes, the rookie started strongly, finishing fourth on his debut in Melbourne and taking multiple sixth-place finishes across the opening rounds.

However, trouble began with a revised rear suspension at Imola, marking a difficult start to the European leg and his home Grand Prix, where a mechanical failure led to a DNF.

Monaco proved frustrating with poor qualifying, followed by more reliability issues in Spain. Although the suspension update was reinstated in Montreal, Antonelli claimed his first F1 podium at the Canadian Grand Prix.

That high was short-lived, however, as back-to-back retirements in Austria and Silverstone — both from crashes — were followed by poor qualifying performances in Belgium and Hungary, leaving him with just a solitary point collected from the four races.

Yet Mercedes boss Wolff believes that his lack of form is not down to the driver, and stems from the W16’s problems.

“Kimi is a huge talent: he’s fast, he’s intelligent,” he told Gazetta dello Sport. “I said it right from the start: he’ll make mistakes, we know that, and we wouldn’t have taken him on if we weren’t aware of that,” Wolff continued.

“Unfortunately, we have an inconsistent car, which makes it more difficult for him to adapt. But going through these difficulties is also part of the process of becoming a champion.”

Wolff stresses rookie growth as Antonelli navigates F1 learning curve

Despite the challenging start to his rookie campaign, Wolff emphasised that Antonelli’s experience is part of a natural development process within the team.

“I think it’s a learning experience for all of us,” he added. “We’ve never had such a young driver on the team, and in general, F1 has never had an 18-year-old in a top team.

“We’re all trying to work together, including his family, to create an environment that will allow Kimi to give his best on the track.”

One-lap pace remains a challenge for Antonelli, something he explained to Auto Mundo und Sport.

“I’m still struggling to understand how much the car can deliver over a qualifying lap,” he said. “You’re so close to the limit that it’s very easy to go a little over it. I’m still trying to find that fine line.”

“The grip is extremely high in qualifying,” he added. “You go into the corners so much faster than in the race. And on every lap, you think: ‘I can go even faster through this corner.’ I’m not yet at the point where I’m at the absolute limit on the first lap.”

The four-week summer break should have provided the youngster with valuable time to recharge and tackle the second half of the season.

But Antonelli’s hopes of matching team-mate George Russell will remain on hold until he can better understand the car’s limits.

READ MORE – Helmut Marko takes aim at Mercedes for Kimi Antonelli ‘hype’

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has conceded that the team failed to get a complete grasp on Formula 1‘s ground effects regulations from the very start.

After a dominant run of eight consecutive Constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021, the German marque has drastically underdelivered since the last rules change.

The Brackley-based squad kicked off the regulations in 2022 with a brave but ultimately doomed ‘zero-pods’ concept. And despite trying to rectify the inherent gremlins of its design philosophy, the team has been lagging behind the likes of Red Bull and now customer outfit McLaren in terms of out-and-out performance and consistency.

Wolff was quite candid in admitting that Mercedes has failed to crack the regulations, citing that the initial disadvantage has continued to plague the team.

“I think we never excelled at managing those regulations,” he told Formula.hu.

“From the beginning, and I think we started on quite a back foot. And then catching up to great competitors is very difficult.”

Wolff optimistic about 2025’s second half

Next season will see an extensive overhaul to the chassis and engine rules – an area that Mercedes has been tipped to ace due to its track record in the turbo-hybrid era.

Yet, Wolff is banking on the sparks of brilliance the team has shown in the past to ensure that it at least finishes this era of the sport on a high.

One of the biggest issues that the team has faced with the W16 is its temperature sensitivity and a very short operating window. This was exacerbated by a revised rear suspension upgrade fitted at Imola – a decision that was reversed in Hungary, leading to George Russell securing his sixth podium finish of the campaign.

“But I will also be looking back at many highlights,” Wolff continued.

“You know how we literally killed it last year in Silverstone, last victory for Lewis [Hamilton] at the British Grand Prix. Dominant in Spa, absolutely dominant in Las Vegas.

“They were great highlights – and this year in Montreal. We had, at times, a winning car.

“And now for the second part of this year, we need to come back to have a winning car.”

READ MORE – George Russell reveals psychological help upon becoming F1 team-mate to Lewis Hamilton

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Toto Wolff has revealed a specific “problem” that made negotiating new deals for Lewis Hamilton at Formula 1 giants Mercedes, something he “hated” doing.

The Austrian enjoyed the luxury of having Hamilton as his driver for 11 years, and together, they achieved the greatest driver-team parntership in F1 history.

Six Drivers’ Championships for Hamilton and eight Constructors’ titles for the German marque was a glowing indication of the fruitful partnership the two men enjoyed.

In doing so, both Wolff and Hamilton became close friends off the track, and remain so to this day.

However, the friendship element was tested by the naturally awkward byproduct of thrashing out contracts, with both men wanting what was best for their respective side.

“It always makes things more complicated when you negotiate with someone who is your ally,” Wolff told Formula.hu. “Someone whose goals are very close to yours.

“For example, Lewis and I, that was always a problem. We were best friends for two and a half years, we agreed 100 percent, we shared our private lives and everything.”

Wolff revealed that hiring an intermediary figure was ultimately a wise decision, to prevent any potential squabbling.

“Then came the two-month period of negotiations. We both hated it,” Wolff revealed. “Why? Because in that situation, you might not agree.

“Finally we changed and brought in someone who did this job, so the situation was resolved in a few days.

“That’s why it’s always going to be complicated with all the drivers. On the one hand, you want to maintain a good relationship.

“On the other hand, negotiations are sometimes tough, and it’s difficult when the other side is an emotional athlete, not someone who deals with this every day.”

Wolff looks out for Mercedes but insists he is ‘fair’

Former Mercedes driver-turned TV pundit Nico Rosberg recently described Wolff as “horrible to negotiate with,” claiming he would become difficult to get hold of at vital stages.

Wolff refuted these accusations from Rosberg, intimating that whilst he wants what’s best for the driver, his priorities are also with the organisation.

“No, I think I’m fair,” he said.

“I think we should always put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. So I give my soul to the other side and think, if I were them, what would I want to achieve?

“Then I ask myself, what is fair in this situation? What do I think would be the right thing to do? 

“I consider that and try to find the right balance, but obviously there are times when both parties want to optimize this and that, and that can make things complicated.”

READ MORE – Ferrari disputes Mercedes theory on Lewis Hamilton F1 woes

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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has taken aim at Formula 1 rivals Mercedes for creating unnecessary “hype” around the team’s rookie driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The Italian teenager was handed his F1 debut this year, chosen by the German marque to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.

Despite frequent glimpses of maturity amid some impressive performances, including a maiden podium in Canada, it has not been the easiest of debut campaigns.

Frequent issues with the Brackley-based squad’s W16 car have left Antonelli’s progress across the European leg of the season stagnating, leading to some disappointing results.

This has led the team to publicly back Antonelli, insisting that his inexperience in handling such a capricious car is part of the learning curve of being an F1 driver.

Marko believes this is partly down to Mercedes’ structure not having a B-team to quietly breed young talent, as Red Bull does with Racing Bulls.

“The difference, our juniors first drive for the Racing Bulls and aren’t immediately exposed to the pressure of F1,” he said.

“We also don’t create hype around a young driver before they’re in an F1 car.”

Why has Antonelli’s rookie campaign unravelled?

Antonelli’s lowest ebb was perhaps the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing outside the points, having failed to make it into Q2 in qualifying for both the Sprint and the main race.

Marko revealed a chance meeting with Antonelli over that weekend, and, like the Mercedes hierarchy, believes he needs time to rediscover his impressive early-season form.

“I mean, they [Mercedes] don’t have a junior team,” he reiterated. “Sure, I don’t want to comment on how things work with other teams.

“Antonelli is certainly a very fast driver, but also very young, and strangely enough, we spoke briefly at the hotel in Spa, and he said that he doesn’t have confidence in the car and as soon as he pushes, he loses control.

“So, it’s more a mental thing, and apparently the car is also very critical in the working window, similar to ours, and when it works, then it’s much more toxic.

“Kimi just needs to be given time to recover, just as [Liam] Lawson rediscovered his form with Racing Bulls. But thankfully, Mercedes doesn’t have the luxury of a second team.”

READ MORE – Red Bull accuses Toto Wolff of ‘stirring up’ Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumours

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Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has repudiated Toto Wolff’s suggestion that Lewis Hamilton‘s struggles are linked to his driving style not suiting the current Formula 1 cars.

Hamilton has been unable to replicate the success he sustained with the previous generation cars, managing two victories since F1 reverted to ground effect in 2022.

But while that can be attributed to Mercedes enduring a downturn since the change, Hamilton’s level has also dipped when compared against his team-mate’s results.

The Briton’s woes have been most pronounced in qualifying, an area where he used to be renowned as a specialist with an unequalled 104 pole positions to his name.

Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin addressed that during 2024, a season in which George Russell out-qualified Hamilton 19 times in 24 rounds.

“Lewis hasn’t disguised the fact that Saturdays were his tough day,” Shovlin said last summer.

“He’s struggled with this whole generation of car, really, not suiting his style. He’s been working on how he drives.

“It’s particularly [that] he struggled on the single lap. So his long run pace is always there and that’s been really useful.

“It’s more just the way that he wants to attack a corner, when you do that, then the car would snap to oversteer. You start to build tyre temperature.”

Ferrari and Mercedes disagree on Hamilton decline

Hamilton’s move to a new environment has not provided an instant upturn as he has experienced various morale-denting setbacks since making the switch to Ferrari.

The seven-time champion claimed that he is “useless” as he succumbed to a Q2 exit at the Hungarian Grand Prix, while team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole position.

However, Mercedes Team Principal Wolff has tipped Hamilton, 40, to be reinvigorated at Ferrari next season when sweeping new technical regulations are introduced.

“Lewis has unfinished business in Formula 1,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week.

“In the same way that Mercedes underperformed over this latest set of regulations since 2022, he kind of never got happy with ground effect cars, in the same way, it beats him. Maybe it’s linked to driving style.

“So, he shouldn’t go anywhere. Next year, brand new cars, completely different to drive, new power units that need an intelligent way of managing the energy.

“So, that’s absolutely on for Lewis, and I hope he stays on for many more years, and certainly next year is going to be an important one.”

Vasseur, though, does not subscribe to the notion that Hamilton’s aggressive late-braking approach isn’t compatible with the contemporary ground effect challengers.

Asked whether this ruleset has been Hamilton’s ‘war’, Vasseur told Auto Motor und Sport: “I don’t think so.

“If we had had bouncing, maybe. But even though we are always on the verge of bouncing, we now have it under control to some extent.”

READ MORE – Ferrari admits Lewis Hamilton can ‘make things worse’ when he ‘exaggerates problems’

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George Russell has revealed he sought psychological help prior to becoming team-mates with Lewis Hamilton at Formula 1 giants Mercedes.

The Brit is now the undoubted team leader of the German marque after Hamilton departed to join Ferrari at the start of this year.

Now a multiple Grand Prix-winner, Russell is nine years senior to his new team-mate, Italian rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The King’s Lynn man is regarded as one of F1’s top drivers, emphasised by a string of impressive performances this year, including victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

But when joining the Brackley-based squad from Williams, Russell would be condemned to face one of the toughest team-mates imaginable in Hamilton.

Speaking on the Untapped podcast, Russell revealed he had spoken to a psychological expert prior to his high-profile move, and they helped him reach the conclusion that success was always in his hands.

“So I was thinking about how I’m going to deal with this psychologically,” he said.

“Until one day, I had a really good conversation with my psychologist about it, about how I should deal with the pressure of being his team-mate.

“And I concluded that when I walk into the garage, I’m jumping into my race car, I’m putting my helmet on, I’ve put my visor down, it should not matter if my teammate in the garage next door is a seven-time World Champion, a rookie, or if there’s nobody there, because I’m in control of my own destiny.

“That’s the approach I have – it’s on me to perform.”

Russell has followed fellow Brit Lando Norris, who has been open and public about his own psychological frailties after his tougher moments during this year’s championship.

Alas, in the three years they were team-mates, Russell was able to finish above Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship twice, a feat never achieved for a team-mate of Hamilton’s before, perhaps proving his course of action was indeed the correct one.

READ MORE – Why George Russell feels Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton needed ‘fresh start’ for F1 2025

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