Mercedes has locked out poles and won the opening races of 2026, yet its starts keep dragging the team back. George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have lost places on every launch, 21 positions gone in total before the end of lap one. The team has made starts a top priority to fix before Miami. The pattern was clear at Suzuka, where a McLaren using the same Mercedes power unit got away well while both works cars slipped backward.
The raw pace is not in doubt. Mercedes has taken multiple poles and stacked early wins, including three Grands Prix and a sprint. But the first meters after lights out have undone much of that advantage. Each weekend has opened with both cars losing ground off the line and through the first lap. Track position built on Saturday has been hard to protect on Sunday when the start does not stick.
Inside the team, the diagnosis is direct. Deputy technical director Simone Resta called starts “probably the car’s weakest characteristic” and said improving launches is a “very high priority” for the next races. The focus is to turn qualifying gains into stable race openings and to stop giving rivals a free run into Turn 1. Work is already under way to tighten up procedures and hardware settings before the cars reach Miami.
Starts live at the edge of power delivery and grip. Launch behavior depends on the power unit’s torque response and how the chassis applies it. Ferrari has built a reputation for strong getaways this season. McLaren, which runs the same Mercedes power unit, produced a clean launch at Suzuka that stood out against the factory team’s struggles. That contrast points to the W17’s integration of the launch system and rear-end compliance as at least part of the problem, not only the engine’s traits.
The numbers underline the urgency. Russell and Antonelli have dropped positions on lap one at every event so far. The total loss of 21 places off the line shows the scale. Those lost spots force the drivers into recovery mode and invite strategic pressure from rivals who start behind and then control the early stint.
Drivers feel it most in the cockpit. Antonelli said he was frustrated after wheelspin dropped him from pole to sixth in one race, even though he later enjoyed the win. He plans to put time into starts to improve his launches. Russell’s repeated drops echo the same concern. Both drivers want a car that lets them hold the line when the lights go out and keep the inside of the first corner.
Mercedes is treating the issue as a priority project rather than a small tweak. The team is aligning car setup, clutch behavior, and power delivery to make the launch more repeatable and more forgiving when grip is marginal. The aim is to defend the front row, avoid early traffic, and control the pace from the front. That is the simplest way to turn qualifying strength into clean races.
Miami arrives fast on the calendar, and the focus is clear. Mercedes wants a W17 that leaves the line clean, with both drivers able to keep the positions they earned on Saturday. The evidence from Ferrari’s strong launches and McLaren’s getaway at Suzuka suggests the answer is in how the Mercedes package deploys its power at zero speed. Fixing that should stop the slide at the start and protect the advantage the team has built over one lap.