Mercedes surge checked by Russell mystery

Mercedes emerged from the Canadian Grand Prix looking like a team with championship-leading pace, but that momentum has been checked by a technical problem it still cannot explain after George Russell’s Montreal issue triggered an investigation now expected to take several months.

RacingNews365 reported that Mercedes “might be sitting comfortably at the top of both championships” after Canada, only for the team to be forced into a deeper review to understand exactly what went wrong for Russell. The delay matters because Montreal had also appeared to confirm a genuine step forward in the car rather than a one-off result.

That progress was underlined by the Italian analysis show Ingegneri del Giovedì, presented by Federico Albano and Carlo Platella, which said Mercedes found significant aerodynamic gains through updates to the floor, diffuser and front wing. The same analysis pointed to less visible tyre-cooling developments, with the benefits expected to become clearer in hotter races, while software changes and clutch-lever adjustments were said to have helped address the team’s start problems.

The result is a more competitive Mercedes, but not a settled one. PlanetF1.com reported that tension broke into the open during a Sprint when Kimi Antonelli called for a “penalty” against team-mate Russell over the radio, with team principal Toto Wolff said to be unimpressed by the message.

Antonelli later tried to calm that flashpoint when he reflected on the fight with Russell in Canada. In the Wednesday off-track news roundup, the Mercedes driver described the duel as “on the limit” while insisting both were pushing for victory without crossing the line.

Away from the circuit, Mercedes has also stepped back from a wider strategic move. PlanetF1.com and RacingNews365 both reported that the manufacturer will no longer pursue a share in Alpine, with RacingNews365 saying the proposed arrangement fell apart because of a “key difference” in negotiations. Taken together with the unresolved Russell problem and the strain between its drivers, the decision leaves Mercedes looking stronger on track, but still busy stabilizing its own campaign before anything else.