George Russell finishes on the podium in Hungary, but Mercedes team boss Wolff remains critical: The development of the car was a complete failure
“We’re taking the positives from this race,” says Mercedes driver George Russell. After the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring near Budapest, there are a few things the star brand can chalk up as “good” – first and foremost Russell’s third place.
“I’m really happy with the result. Apart from Canada, that was our best race of the year so far in terms of pace,” Russell told Sky.
But the joy at Mercedes is not boundless: Team boss Toto Wolff describes the mood in the team as merely ‘okay’ and third place as a “solid result.”
Russell himself is not exactly brimming with euphoria either, saying: “We don’t want to get too carried away by this result and we shouldn’t overestimate it.”
Why Mercedes’ joy remains muted
So was the performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix not a breakthrough for Mercedes after all? Although the team scored more than ten points in a weekend for the first time since Canada, it still feels that it has taken a wrong turn in its development.
“We’ve reverted the car back to its pre-Imola state. It shouldn’t happen that an upgrade ruins everything,” Wolff explained in an interview with Sky.
But that’s exactly what happened: the new rear suspension introduced in Imola made the Mercedes W16 unpredictable for Russell and Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes allowed itself to be “led astray”
This resulted in exactly the opposite of what Mercedes had originally intended: “We tried to solve a problem with an upgrade in Imola. That may not have solved the actual problem, but it did introduce something new into the car: an instability that robbed the drivers of all confidence.”
“It took a few races to figure that out. We were also misled by the attitude that ‘maybe it’s not so bad,’” says Wolff. This is because Mercedes was flying high in Canada with Russell’s victory and Antonelli’s third place finish – with the new rear suspension. However, this proved to be a “one-off.”
“In the end, we came to the conclusion that the update had to go – and now the car is back in solid shape,” says Wolff. The failed Imola update is therefore likely to face a harsh fate: “That rear axle will probably end up in a trash can.”
What Mercedes stumbled over in development
Looking back, Wolff is struggling with the development direction taken: “All the smart people, all the simulations, all the infrastructure we have. And then it leads you to a setup or a vehicle architecture that is simply wrong.”
“Upgrades are supposed to deliver performance – that’s what all the simulations and analyses are for. But if the parts are completely wrong in the end, you have to go back to the analog world: put the component in the car and see what it really does.”
Reconciling the digital data with reality on the race track is “difficult for every Formula 1 team,” says Wolff. “That was a key problem – and this is the latest example of how we stumbled over it.”
What went better in Hungary than before
But Mercedes has at least recovered by reverting to the original rear suspension. “The car suited the drivers [in Hungary],” says Wolff. It’s “good” to go into the Formula 1 summer break with a podium finish.
According to Russell, things went “better than in the previous races” at the Hungaroring, which had been “quite difficult” for Mercedes. However, that cannot hide the fact that McLaren is “miles ahead” of the competition. “I don’t think that will change much in the second half of the season.”
Mercedes must therefore focus on being “the best team behind the leaders” in the second half of the season, says Russell. To do so, however, the star brand will have to overtake Ferrari: The traditional Formula 1 team currently occupies second place in the constructors’ standings, 24 points ahead of Mercedes.
“Unnecessary” fierce resistance from Charles Leclerc
At the Hungaroring, Mercedes at least managed to pass a Ferrari in a direct duel with one car: Russell overtook Charles Leclerc, but only after fierce resistance from the Ferrari driver. Russell repeatedly suspected Leclerc of breaking the rules with his defensive stance and demanded a penalty, which was ultimately imposed.
Russell explains: “When the car in front changes line [when braking], you’re already at the limit of grip and have hardly any room for manoeuvre. I think we touched slightly the second time. I’m just glad we got through it unscathed.”
Team boss Toto Wolff described Leclerc’s move as “unnecessary” and, the second time, as “definitely too hard.” However, he considered the five-second time penalty against Leclerc to be “pointless when there’s no one 30 seconds behind you,” meaning the penalty was ineffective. Leclerc finished the race in fourth place, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin.
