Kimi Antonelli and George Russell: Alarm Bells Ring at Mercedes

Mercedes is on the verge of a double victory in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, but the Brackley-based team is far from confident after Friday’s free practice sessions in Austin. Even in Texas, the latest updates to the W17 don’t seem to be working: both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are lagging behind their rivals, in fourth and fifth place.

Team principal Toto Wolff admitted he is concerned, especially with an eye toward next season: “What we’re seeing is that before the update we introduced, the car was very stable and fast, but when we brought in the latest upgrade, it changed completely.”

The drivers are complaining about the car’s instability: “The car is twitchy under braking; in some corners it understeers, in others it oversteers—something isn’t right. That’s why it’s better if we try to figure this out today, during this championship, rather than next February.”

“We made a mistake and we don’t understand where,” concluded the Mercedes boss, who is nonetheless preparing to claim the sixteenth and seventeenth world titles of his historic tenure.