Mercedes mid-season review: A half-year of ups and downs
- Rohan Brown
- Aug 25
- 4 min read
Written by Rohan Brown, Edited by Meghana Sree
As we head into the second half of the 2025 Formula One season after a lengthy summer break, our F1 writers take you through the state of play with each team on the grid.
Mercedes has been in a varying state of transition ever since the beginning of the ground effect era in 2022, improving on their performances year-on-year and frequently challenging to be a championship-threatening team or achieving multiple wins during a season.
Like their 2024 campaign, the Brackley-based team this season has racked up multiple podiums and a single victory so far in Canada – although now missing a seasoned veteran driver in the form of seven-time Drivers’ World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Despite this, rookie Kimi Antonelli has proven to be a great talent so far this season, although still dominated in all sessions by de facto senior driver George Russell.
The Briton has been able to lead Mercedes effectively through the post-Hamilton era with consistent podiums and reliable performance, although there may be future triumphs that have not happened yet considering the strengths of the W16.
Off track, the team has been frequently mentioned in headlines for a possible signing in the form of four-time champion Max Verstappen.
However, despite rumours, their driver lineup appears to in the near future, with Verstappen publicly stating he will be committing to Red Bull.
In related news, their reserve driver Valtteri Bottas who returned to the Mercedes family after leaving Sauber at the end of 2024 is heavily rumoured to make his Formula One comeback next year with the new Cadillac team.
High point
The first round at Albert Park was an opening high for the Brackley-based team, as Russell collected a podium and Antonelli secured a remarkable fourth place finish on his F1 debut.
It was a display of effective race management and masterful wet weather driving in what ended up being a chaotic season opener, and showing their pace early on.
Building on this, Russell’s second podium at round four in Bahrain (a second-place finish) demonstrated how they have been able to challenge at the top of the grid when they’re in the right place at the right time.
The British driver was also able to keep McLaren’s Lando Norris at bay with a gap of a couple tenths at the finish line.
Moving onto qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix sprint, Antonelli was able to unleash electrifying pace – clinching pole position for Saturday’s sprint with less than a tenth gap to second-placed Oscar Piastri in a close-fought session.
But undoubtedly the highlight of the season so far for Mercedes has been the Canadian Grand Prix. A 1-3 finish, with Russell securing victory from pole position and Antonelli getting his first ever podium was a historic weekend, the rookie becoming the third-youngest podium finisher in F1 history.
This race weekend demonstrated the team’s ability to dominate in cooler conditions, and execute an effective strategy that saw them on top by Sunday.
With 10 rounds left of the 2025 season, Mercedes have had many highs so far – finding themselves third in the Constructors’ Championship, only 24 points adrift of Ferrari in second.
Low point
Despite enjoying several highs and being one of two teams to secure a win in what has been a McLaren-dominated year, there have been some notable low points this season.
Antonelli has been outqualified by his teammate 13-1 and is 13-0 in all of the Grands Prix compared to the more experienced Russell. Whilst he still is a rookie, this has undoubtedly added pressure to what has been a tumultuous season for the Italian driver, with infamous downs like his crash at his home race in Imola.
Building on this, whilst Mercedes has been able to challenge for multiple podiums, it has only been Russell who has been able to achieve these results and the majority of the points scored by the team, with Antonelli not yet able to rival his teammate.
Additionally, another low Mercedes have had this season is their lack of consistency – partially owed to their car's varied performance across the first half of races. Whilst their car has been able to effectively challenge for podiums and victories in cooler conditions such as those in Canada, they then finish lower down in the top 10 in the following races at warmer circuits.
If they can work on this weak link, their fortunes in the remaining races could be different to a significant extent.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, one of the biggest issues Mercedes have to contend with is their driver situation. Both Russell and Antonelli’s contracts expire at the end of the 2025 season, however it seems that the most likely outcome is that the team will keep both drivers for the near future: especially given Verstappen’s recent declaration of commitment to Red Bull for the 2026 season.
On track, both this and last year’s cars have excelled in cooler environments, such as in Las Vegas where Russell secured a third career victory in 2024.
This indicates that they might have a chance of keeping up their challenge with Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ Championship – much like 2023 recently, where the Silver Arrows edged out Ferrari by three points in the battle.
Their bets will be on beating Ferrari in environments where their performance is stronger, although that will prove to be a tall order in a season where the cars are closer in performance than ever.
Despite the ground-effect era for Mercedes being shaped by multiple-years of clawing their way back to the front of the sport, Mercedes could conclude this set of regulations with a second second-place finish in the Constructors'.
Next year will allow the team to start a clean slate for the new regulations set, perhaps on the front foot considering their engine could be one of the most competitive power units.
The Brackley and Brixworth outfit have been at the top of the sport before, and the next half of this season in the hands of a young veteran and a rookie could lay their path to return to that point.
I spent a moment reading on https://carboom.co.uk and came across some concrete numbers that stood out and so I’m passing them on. They are acting as a broker not the one pulling the strings, and rates start from 9.9 per cent APR with a rep at 19.9 per cent APR. There’s even an example: borrowing £10 000 over five years with zero deposit works out to about £5 329 in credit cost, meaning you repay roughly £15 329 in total. I found that kind of openness quite grounding not full of spin but plain facts someone can work with.