Kimi Antonelli firmly retains the lead in the Formula 1 World Championship, but the Mercedes driver believes his team has now lost its performance advantage.
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After Lando Norris’s latest victory at Zandvoort, the Italian even considers the W17 to be only the second, or even third fastest car on the grid.
The contrast with the start of the season is striking. Mercedes dominated the entry into the new regulatory era by winning the first six Grands Prix from pole position. But as developments progressed, Ferrari and especially McLaren gradually closed the gap.
McLaren advantage?
At Zandvoort, this evolution became particularly visible. Norris converted his pole position into a second consecutive victory, confirming the spectacular progress made by McLaren since the introduction of their major upgrade package in Hungary.
Mercedes limited the damage with Antonelli second and George Russell third, but the championship leader has no illusions about the current hierarchy: “We are clearly no longer the fastest car on the grid,” admits Antonelli. We are probably second or third, at least based on this race. McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary and the big upgrade package they brought.”
The points situation remains largely favorable to the Silver Arrows. Antonelli now has a 59-point lead over Russell and Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes leads Ferrari by 87 points in the constructors’ championship.
A comfortable lead
But this lead was mainly built thanks to the dominance at the start of the season. Meanwhile, the development of the W17 has not allowed Mercedes to maintain the same advantage over its rivals. McLaren seems to have gained the upper hand particularly on circuits where tire degradation plays an important role.
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Antonelli is not overly worried, however. Mercedes itself is preparing a major upgrade package that could allow it to regain the initiative.
“I have confidence in the team. Everyone is working hard on the next package and we just want to make sure it works properly when we put it on the car,” he explains. I hope then it will be our turn to bring a package that will give us a small advantage again.”
Russell expects a different situation at Monza
George Russell is slightly more cautious about the new hierarchy. The Brit believes that the characteristics of Budapest and Zandvoort particularly favored McLaren and Norris. After his seventh place in Hungary, Russell returned to the podium in the Netherlands but acknowledges that Mercedes has just gone through two difficult weekends.
He expects a different situation at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where tire degradation should be less significant: “I think we will be slightly more competitive there,” Russell says. Circuits with high degradation really suit McLaren very well, and especially Lando. Monza could be slightly different, but for now, I think they are the team to beat.”
Mercedes therefore maintains an ideal position in both championships, but the momentum has changed. After largely dominating the start of the season, the German team must now respond to McLaren’s progress. Monza will be an important first test before the arrival of the next big upgrade package for the W17.
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